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Lawmakers receive sobering coronavirus updates

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Lawmakers receive sobering coronavirus updates - North Carolina Health News

While lawmakers are still gathering information, they have been focused on helping regions and health systems address the coronavirus crisis.

By Rose Hoban Lawmakers on the health care working group of the House Select Committee on COVID-19 had another sobering meeting to collect information on the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic which has upended life across the globe. Working group co-chair Rep. Josh Dobson (R-Nebo) said the group is still trying to get their […]

State health Sec. Mandy Cohen stands with her head bowed before March 31 press briefing on coronavirus.

Coronavirus Today – April 1 – Managing limited PPE supplies, tracking the spread, face masks for healthy people

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Coronavirus Today – April 1 – Managing limited PPE supplies, tracking the spread, face masks for healthy people - North Carolina Health News

State officials said that they are working on shoring up North Carolina’s supply of protective equipment. Meanwhile, the health department is working to create more accurate predictions of how the virus will affect the state.

By North Carolina Health News staff In search of an accurate disease model As North Carolina works through its first week of a statewide stay-at-home order, state department of health secretary Mandy Cohen cautioned that it’s hard to predict exactly how the outbreak will play out in North Carolina. Various models for the spread and […]

Image of money with a caduceus superimposed on the bills. We're using this image to denote Medicaid managed care.

Federal proposal could change the face of Medicaid in North Carolina

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Federal proposal could change the face of Medicaid in North Carolina - North Carolina Health News

A Trump Administration announcement of lump-sum offer for adult Medicaid coverage draws fire from some quarters.

By Sarah Ovaska and Liora Engel-Smith The Trump Administration announced a proposal Thursday that could potentially transform how Medicaid functions in some areas. The proposal would let states opt into a lump-sum funding system to pay for the health care needs of low-income, working-age adults. The proposal is already drawing fire from critics and Democrats […]

An African American mother and her baby bond together as an illustration of maternal health and maternal and child health.

Federal health officials ask how they can help NC improve maternal health. They get an earful.

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Federal health officials ask how they can help NC improve maternal health. They get an earful. - North Carolina Health News

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Medicaid, Medicare administrators came to Raleigh for guidance on North Carolina’s maternal health needs.

By Anne Blythe Health care administrators traveled from the nation’s capital to the state capital this week as part of a listening tour on how the federal government could help North Carolina address some of its thornier maternal health issues. They got plenty of feedback from the dozens of North Carolina caregivers, patients, administrators and […]

A photo of a building that's home to Washington Regional Medical Center

Eastern North Carolina hospital to be sold to Texas firm

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Eastern North Carolina hospital to be sold to Texas firm - North Carolina Health News

Washington Regional Medical Center in Plymouth is slated for sale at the end of the month for $3.5 million.

By Liora Engel-Smith An Eastern North Carolina hospital in bankruptcy may soon have a new owner. The Texas-based Affinity Health Partners, a consulting firm that has been charged with managing Washington Regional Medical Center throughout the bankruptcy proceedings, said it will buy the hospital from current owner HMC/CAH at the end of January. But as […]

shows the front of a Medicare card

Seniors signing up during Medicare open enrollment hitting glitches

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Seniors signing up during Medicare open enrollment hitting glitches - North Carolina Health News

Annual open enrollment for Medicare started Oct. 15 and concludes Dec. 7. State officials and advocates involved in Medicare benefits say glitches are slowing the process for consumers to sign up, even as the process gets more complex.

By Thomas Goldsmith A newly revised Medicare sign-up page can produce drastically inflated costs for some drugs, incorrect premiums for low-income people, and other “worrisome” results, say North Carolina health officials who work to make sure people over 65 get appropriate benefits. Top management at the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, known as […]

A bouquet of orange and red wrappers with condoms are visible. Condoms are one way to prevent the transmission of HIV.

In rural Southeastern NC, ‘one stop shop’ keeps HIV-positive patients healthy

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In rural Southeastern NC, ‘one stop shop’ keeps HIV-positive patients healthy - North Carolina Health News

To explore a reader question about successful programs that address social determinants of health, NC Health News visited a program for HIV-positive people that ventures beyond the confines of traditional healthcare to keep patients out of the hospital.

By Liora Engel-Smith When Christopher Jones was thinking of going back to school for his bachelor’s degree, he shot a text to staff at the clinic where he gets his medical care to ask for advice. The Cumberland County resident knew he couldn’t keep his full-time job and go to school at the same time. […]

Shows the computer home page for people to choose a Medicare plan

Medicare’s key means for selecting coverage has grown harder to use, advocates say

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Medicare’s key means for selecting coverage has grown harder to use, advocates say - North Carolina Health News

Controversy is roiling over the revised Medicare Plan Finder, an online tool for selecting optimal plans. Medicare says it’ll be fine after some tweaking, but some advocates say it has major problems.

By Thomas Goldsmith and Anne Blythe Advocates for older people contend that the online method many people and advisers use to select Medicare plans has gotten so difficult to navigate that beneficiaries will run into trouble trying to make their choices. Federal Medicare representatives maintain there’s real benefit to consumers in changes the agency has […]

shows the front of the legislative building in Raleigh, general assembly

Bill to extend health insurance benefits to low-income workers finally gets started

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Bill to extend health insurance benefits to low-income workers finally gets started - North Carolina Health News

Six years after the state legislature rejected Medicaid expansion and four years after a Republican plan for adding hundreds of thousands of low income workers to insurance rolls was introduced, a bill finally passes committee.

By Rose Hoban After years of waiting, advocates for extending health insurance to hundreds of thousands of low-income North Carolinians finally saw a bill cross the starting line at the state legislature. House Bill 655 would allow for people who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid and too little to receive subsidies on the […]

shows the back of a wheelchair, with an old and wizened hand on the arm of the chair

Many uses exist for money intended to aid NC nursing home residents, advocates say

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Many uses exist for money intended to aid NC nursing home residents, advocates say - North Carolina Health News

Projects that could benefit nursing home residents are plentiful as NC looks for potential applicants for $28.9 million in a fund that sits mostly unused.

By Thomas Goldsmith There are plenty of ways to help nursing home residents through projects that could be paid for by a nearly $29 million, mostly unused, fund accumulated by federal and state authorities, advocates for older people and a state legislator said. Instead, the civil money penalties fund, comprised of fines levied against North […]