Carolina Cares

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No state budget, no Medicaid transformation?

November 12, 2019 by Sarah Ovaska

No state budget, no Medicaid transformation? - North Carolina Health News

The impasse in Raleigh may (again) push back what’s slated to be the biggest change to North Carolina’s health networks in decades.

By Sarah Ovaska-Few Talk about a health care policy cliffhanger. On one hand, North Carolina is slated to drastically alter the health care landscape of the state with a scheduled February handoff for most of its massive Medicaid system to managed care companies. The hope is that these companies, which will be paid a capitated, […]

man stands amid a crowd of people taking notes and holding microphones

Lawmakers strong-arm over budget, Medicaid expansion, but come up empty-handed

July 10, 2019 by Rose Hoban

Lawmakers strong-arm over budget, Medicaid expansion, but come up empty-handed - North Carolina Health News

The two issues became increasingly intertwined at the legislature, where movement on one issue can’t come without movement on the other.

By Rose Hoban After years of trying, a group of moderate Republicans in the state House of Representatives finally held a committee hearing on expanding the state’s Medicaid program to cover about a half million additional low-income residents. In a lopsided 25-6 vote both Republicans and Democrats moved the NC Health Care for Working Families […]

legislative leaders stand at, around a podium. But they're not talking about Medicaid expansion

New General Assembly budget includes many health care features, but no Medicaid expansion

June 26, 2019 by Rose Hoban

New General Assembly budget includes many health care features, but no Medicaid expansion - North Carolina Health News

The $24 billion plan gives teachers and state employees a pay boost, but it leaves out one of Gov. Cooper's primary priorities.

By Rose Hoban After several weeks of negotiations between the North Carolina Senate and the House of Representatives, the two chambers came together Tuesday to present a compromise budget they’ll be sending to Gov. Roy Cooper for his signature. But it’s likely Cooper will be vetoing it. For months, the governor has signaled that he […]

Man stands at a podium, points at an easel with a display on it, explaining his Medicaid expansion plan

Lawmakers look for ways to cover more low-income uninsured

April 10, 2019 by Rose Hoban

Lawmakers look for ways to cover more low-income uninsured - North Carolina Health News

A group of Republicans in the state House of Representatives takes a gambit to get about a half million people access to care.

By Rose Hoban Two years ago, a group of Republicans in the North Carolina House of Representatives made a splash when they defied their party’s orthodoxy: They wanted to provide a way to get hundreds of thousands of low-income North Carolinians access to health insurance via the state’s Medicaid program. But they didn’t say they […]

man stands at a podium, the great seal of the state of north carolina is on the front of that podium

Medicaid expansion looms large in Cooper’s budget bid

March 7, 2019 by Rose Hoban

Medicaid expansion looms large in Cooper’s budget bid - North Carolina Health News

The governor traditionally presents his budget before the General Assembly starts work on their version. Gov. Roy Cooper made it clear he's looking to extend insurance benefits to about a half million of the state's low-income residents.

By Rose Hoban Governor Roy Cooper rolled out his budget for the upcoming fiscal year Wednesday morning, presenting a $25.2 billion plan with one of the central provisions being extension of North Carolina’s Medicaid program to cover as many as half a million low-income residents of the state. Cooper was firm about widening the program, […]

a crowd of people stand behind an african american man who stands at a podium, speaking

Democrats start legislative session by calling for expanded Medicaid

January 31, 2019 by Rose Hoban

Democrats start legislative session by calling for expanded Medicaid - North Carolina Health News

House minority leader Darren Jackson called extending the state-federal program’s benefits Democrats’ “number one priority.”

By Rose Hoban In a much-anticipated move, members of the General Assembly’s Democratic caucus filed bills in both the state Senate and House of Representatives to expand Medicaid, the health care program that covers many low-income North Carolinians. Since the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Democrats have been frustrated in their desire to get […]

NC Health Policy and Trends to Watch For in 2019 – Part 2

January 2, 2019 by Editor

NC Health Policy and Trends to Watch For in 2019 – Part 2 - North Carolina Health News

We asked our reporters to take a look in their cloudy crystal balls and tell us what might be the big issues to follow in the coming year. Today, we look ahead to environmental health and legislative issues and the future of Medicaid.

By Greg Barnes, Sarah Ovaska-Few & Rose Hoban Environmental health issues will continue to make headlines At N.C. Health News, environmental health reporting promises to start the New Year where it left off in 2018. GenX, the environmental story that dominated the headlines last year, will be back in the news by early January, […]

black and white photo shows a woman standing in front of a large greek temple styled building, holding a sign that reads "We HEART Obamacare"

ACA Ruling Rankles Supporters but Doesn’t Change their Plans

December 18, 2018 by Rose Hoban

ACA Ruling Rankles Supporters but Doesn’t Change their Plans - North Carolina Health News

A ruling Friday from a federal judge in Texas asserts the law is unconstitutional, but many advocates for the law say this ruling is only the beginning.

By Rose Hoban As he drove from one town to the next late last week, Mark Van Arnam was dismayed to hear the news that a judge sitting on a district circuit court in Texas ruled that the entire Affordable Care Act was unconstitutional. Van Arnam leads the North Carolina Navigator Consortium, a group dedicated […]

map showing fewer states now have not chosen to expand Medicaid, only 14 holdouts remain

Medicaid expansion on the horizon? Or still out of reach?

November 9, 2018 by Sarah Ovaska

Medicaid expansion on the horizon? Or still out of reach? - North Carolina Health News

Tuesday's election brought more Democrats, who want to expand the joint state-federal program to Raleigh. But their ability to make that happen is limited.

By Sarah Ovaska-Few Now that some of the dust has settled after Tuesday’s election, the big question for many in the state’s health care community is whether North Carolina will expand Medicaid. Here’s the unsatisfactory answer: Maybe, maybe not. Tuesday’s elections brought significant change to the balance of power in the N.C General Assembly. Republican […]

shows a red cross with the word Medicaid printed on it, in front of a pile of dollar bills. For Medicaid transformation

Medicaid Changes Get Thumbs Up, as State Pushes Forward with Managed Care

October 26, 2018 by Sarah Ovaska

Medicaid Changes Get Thumbs Up, as State Pushes Forward with Managed Care - North Carolina Health News

The plan includes looking hard at social problems that keep people from being healthy and integrates solutions to those problems into plans.

By Sarah Ovaska-Few North Carolina’s Medicaid overhaul cleared a major hurdle this week with the federal government giving an official nod to plans to switch to a managed-care system. Approval by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in what’s known as a Section 1115 Demonstration Waiver means the N.C. Department of Health and […]

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