Consumer News

Because of website glitches, the ACA open enrollment was extended

Lose your job and health insurance due to COVID-19? Here’s a tip.

September 28, 2020 by Rose Hoban

Lose your job and health insurance due to COVID-19? Here’s a tip. - North Carolina Health News

Federal agency was mum for months on ‘major life change’ extension to ACA marketplace that could have helped thousands of North Carolinians.

By Rose Hoban Who knew? The tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of North Carolinians who have lost health insurance since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic might have a new option. They should check out the federal marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act. A change quietly enacted on the federal Healthcare.gov website sometime […]

Dr. Judith Borger attends to a patient in the Moderna coronavirus / COVID clinical trials being conducted in Fayetteville.

Clinical trials for coronavirus vaccine progressing in Fayetteville and elsewhere in NC

September 14, 2020 by Greg Barnes

Clinical trials for coronavirus vaccine progressing in Fayetteville and elsewhere in NC - North Carolina Health News

More than 300 people are participating in Phase 3 of the Moderna vaccine clinical trials in Fayetteville. A local doctor heading those trials says they are going well, but scientists doubt a vaccine will be approved before December, at the earliest.

By Greg Barnes Matt Irving didn’t think much about his participation in a new clinical trial for a coronavirus vaccine until someone mentioned it on social media and people started thanking him. “I just didn’t think it was a big deal,” the Fayetteville resident said. But deep down, Irving knows that his involvement in the […]

shows signs advertising rural broadband at a lonely rural crossroads. Broadband is necessary for better telehealth penetration in NC's rural burgs.

HHS plan to improve rural health focuses on better broadband, telehealth services

September 5, 2020 by Kaiser Health News

HHS plan to improve rural health focuses on better broadband, telehealth services - North Carolina Health News

Rural North Carolina has some of the largest swaths of "white space" in the country, where broadband and even cell service don't reach.

By Sarah Jane Tribble Kaiser Health News Knowing it may be met with some skepticism, the Trump administration Thursday announced a sweeping plan that officials say will transform health care in rural America. Even before the coronavirus pandemic reached into the nation’s less-populated regions, rural Americans were sicker, poorer and older than the rest of […]

A bunch of test tubes are visible as an analogy for COVID-19 research tests

Growing calls for FDA to speed approval of quick, at-home coronavirus tests

August 16, 2020 by Fair Warning

Growing calls for FDA to speed approval of quick, at-home coronavirus tests - North Carolina Health News

The rapid home tests are not as accurate as the common lab tests done now, but can usually detect when an individual has enough of the virus to be contagious.

By Alexandra Tempus Fair Warning The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is under fire for setting what critics say are near-impossible standards for quick, at-home COVID-19 tests that could provide a breakthrough in stemming the spread of the virus. The rapid home tests are not as accurate as the common lab tests done now, but […]

hands hold a tube of blood as a proxy for coronavirus tests and research

As long waits for results render COVID tests ‘useless,’ states seek workarounds

August 2, 2020 by Kaiser Health News

As long waits for results render COVID tests ‘useless,’ states seek workarounds - North Carolina Health News

As coronavirus cases continue to tick up across the United States, individual states are pivoting to find labs that can provide test results in a more timely way.

By Matt Volz and Phil Galewitz Kaiser Health News States frustrated by private laboratories’ increasingly long turnarounds for COVID-19 test results are scrambling to find ways to salvage their testing programs. Montana said last month that it is dropping Quest Diagnostics, one of the nation’s largest diagnostic testing companies. The Secaucus, New Jersey-based company had done all the […]

shows men bent over green plants, pulling peppers into baskets

With more farmers and food handlers testing positive for the coronavirus, consumers wonder if food is safe to eat.

June 5, 2020 by Aaliyah Bowden

With more farmers and food handlers testing positive for the coronavirus, consumers wonder if food is safe to eat. - North Carolina Health News

Headlines are filled with farmers and food handlers testing positive for the novel coronavirus, making consumers wonder whether or not it is safe for us to eat that food. We’ll break it down for you.

By Aaliyah Bowden News reports have been filled in recent weeks with accounts of workers at meat processing plants coming down with COVID-19 at their workplaces. Farmers and food manufacturers have tested positive for the virus, and some have expressed concern over whether the virus can be transmitted by touching or eating food from these […]

shows a paper reading, "Insurance policy" with glasses and a pen in the foreground

For workers who’ve lost jobs, what are the options for health insurance?

May 12, 2020 by Rose Hoban

For workers who’ve lost jobs, what are the options for health insurance? - North Carolina Health News

About a million North Carolinians have lost work in the past two months, and for many, lost health insurance too. What can they do?

By Rose Hoban During the last week before Gov. Roy Cooper ordered the closure of restaurants and bars to all but takeout service in March, Stephen Murtaugh could read the handwriting on the wall. At Carrboro’s Oakleaf restaurant, where he was manager, Murtaugh said they were cleaning and disinfecting, attempting to reassure customers they’d be […]

Toni Henley says she is frustrated because her husband, Jeff, had to wait nearly a week to be tested for the COVID-19. Now he's being given hydroxychloroquine

Wife of Harnett County man with coronavirus says testing should have been done sooner

March 18, 2020 by Greg Barnes

Wife of Harnett County man with coronavirus says testing should have been done sooner - North Carolina Health News

Toni Hensley said she is frustrated that it took almost a week before her husband could get tested for the virus, but she praised health officials and urged people to heed their warnings.

By Greg Barnes Jeff Hensley wasn’t feeling well when his plane touched down in Raleigh on March 7. He had just returned from Hawaii with all of the symptoms of coronavirus — a cough, fatigue, tightness in the chest, shortness of breath — everything except one. He didn’t have a fever. Two days later, he […]

Empty grocery shelves as a response to coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic

Coronavirus Today – Monday, March 16

March 16, 2020 by Editor

Coronavirus Today – Monday, March 16 - North Carolina Health News

This last weekend saw changes in North Carolina’s public life, but for many, changes in the state became real when their kids remained home from school.

By NC Health News Staff North Carolina has been in a state of emergency for nearly a week in response to the novel coronavirus, and with the declaration came novel lifestyle changes for many across the state. The new normal for everyday life is very abnormal, instilling child care headaches for many families, ramped up […]

a man and young woman arrange eggs for customers shopping during a time of coronvirus restrictions on movement.

Need food during your coronavirus quarantine? NC farmers want to provide it.

March 16, 2020 by Rose Hoban

Need food during your coronavirus quarantine? NC farmers want to provide it. - North Carolina Health News

With new restrictions on large gatherings and people sequestering themselves at home to avoid coronavirus infection, public life in North Carolina is starting to look very different. But one institution is adjusting in order to stay alive.

By Rose Hoban One institution that’s strong in North Carolina is the local food system. The state has one of the most robust farmers market networks in the country, with more than 230 markets and roadside stands scattered across more than half of the state’s counties. People congregate at markets and in many places, market […]

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