CMS

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 […]

shows an older woman standing outside, wearing a mask against COVID, her mask reads: Asthma

Coronavirus Today – Sep. 3 – ‘Get Behind the Mask’ and Labor Day; Vaccine by November?; Nursing homes and child care; ‘Dr. Mandy Cohen Day’

September 3, 2020 by Anne Blythe

Coronavirus Today – Sep. 3 – ‘Get Behind the Mask’ and Labor Day; Vaccine by November?; Nursing homes and child care; ‘Dr. Mandy Cohen Day’ - North Carolina Health News

North Carolina launches a public health face mask campaign six months into the coronavirus pandemic.

By Anne Blythe Public health officials want North Carolinians to keep up their guard against COVID-19 over the long Labor Day weekend so the unofficial end of summer won’t be ushered out the way the season was marshaled in. It was not long after Memorial Day and a coinciding easing of the statewide Stay at […]

A skilled nursing facility sign is in the foreground and a building is in the background. The facility, A PruittHealth skilled-nursing facility for veterans in Orange County, is dealing with an outbreak of COVID-19, and has a history of poor staffing.

Short staffing an issue at NC nursing homes marked by COVID-19 outbreaks

April 20, 2020 by Thomas Goldsmith

Short staffing an issue at NC nursing homes marked by COVID-19 outbreaks - North Carolina Health News

Federal records for the 19 NC nursing homes identified as having COVID-19 outbreaks show three-quarters have below average marks for staffing. If there’s a relationship there, it could lead to change.

By Thomas Goldsmith Many of the North Carolina nursing homes known to have had COVID-19 outbreaks have something else in common: they apparently don’t have enough staff to do the necessary work. A new NC Health News analysis of federal data found histories of short staffing at more than three-quarters of the 19 North Carolina […]

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

Lawmakers receive sobering coronavirus updates

April 3, 2020 by Rose Hoban

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

April 1, 2020 by Editor

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

January 31, 2020 by Sarah Ovaska

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.

January 29, 2020 by Anne Blythe

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

January 21, 2020 by Liora Engel-Smith

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 […]

Seniors signing up during Medicare open enrollment hitting glitches

October 22, 2019 by Thomas Goldsmith

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

October 10, 2019 by Liora Engel-Smith

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. […]

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