By Anne Blythe More than 13 years have passed since a group of prominent state retirees filed a lawsuit challenging what was then a new state law that required them to start paying for health care benefits they had received free of charge for years as part of their benefits package. Now, attorneys for the […]
Posted inState Health Policy
From child welfare to climate: Top NC health stories to watch in 2026
By Will Atwater, Jaymie Baxley, Anne Blythe, Rachel Crumpler, Jennifer Fernandez, Rose Hoban and Taylor Knopf Making predictions in the current political and social environment — particularly about health care — can be a tricky business. As the great Yogi Berra quipped, “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” Case in point, who […]
Posted inHealth Insurance
Why are health coverage costs increasing under the Affordable Care Act in North Carolina?
NC Local What you need to know What is the Affordable Care Act? Signed into law in 2010 by then-President Barack Obama, the Affordable Care Act expanded health care coverage for millions of Americans. The law created tax credits to help lower out-of-pocket costs. It also barred insurers from charging people with pre-existing health conditions […]
Posted inMental Health
What piqued readers’ interest in 2025? Six stories of reckonings in NC’s health care system.
By Taylor Knopf, Rachel Crumpler, Jennifer Fernandez, Rose Hoban, Jaymie Baxley and Ashley Fredde When patients feel mistreated, it’s become difficult to find recourse in the courts. A law passed in 2009 makes it challenging — if not impossible — for patients to sue providers for malpractice. Sometimes their only recourse is to reach out […]
Posted inEnvironmental Health
What are some stories that grabbed readers in 2025?
By Will Atwater, Anne Blythe, Michelle Crouch, Taylor Knopf Our most-read story of 2025 had a distinctive “eew!” factor. It was about new research showing that emissions from hog operations can travel beyond farm boundaries and into nearby homes. Another study cited by NC Health News found DNA from swine feces in household dust collected […]
Posted inPublic Health
Fighting off a bout of holiday cabin fever? A hike could be the cure
By Anne Blythe A version of this story initially was published on Dec. 26, 2024. We’ve tweaked it ever so slightly and offered it up again in case you’re thinking about a holiday hike in the final days of 2025 or early in 2026. For as much cheer and joy as the holidays bring, they […]