North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians

Shows a group of eight people each wearing masks and holding out their arms to be at a distance from one another.

Will COVID-19 help move primary care physicians away from the fee-for-service model?

August 19, 2020 by Rose Hoban

Will COVID-19 help move primary care physicians away from the fee-for-service model? - North Carolina Health News

The “medical MacGyvering” that took place early in the pandemic wasn’t limited to emergency physicians jerry-rigging personal protective equipment or ICU docs using FaceTime to connect patients to families. Small primary care practices also pivoted hard, but it’s come at a cost.

By Rose Hoban When Karen Smith went to Jamaica in March, she planned a working vacation. The Hoke County primary care doctor, whose practice thrives with about 3,000 patients, was in the island country to do some medical mission work when the first cases of COVID-19 were reported there. She’s a little unclear on the […]

Kevin Mahoney is a peer support specialist at MAHEC

Free phones, masks in parks: Rural providers get creative with mental health outreach post-COVID

August 7, 2020 by Liora Engel-Smith

Free phones, masks in parks: Rural providers get creative with mental health outreach post-COVID - North Carolina Health News

The pandemic has isolated rural residents with mental health needs. But these North Carolina providers are finding creative ways to connect.

By Liora Engel-Smith When coronavirus transformed North Carolina’s telehealth billing in early spring, Kevin Mahoney began checking in with most of his 200 clients via video and phone. But the Asheville-based peer support specialist soon discovered that telehealth left some of his clients behind. Mahoney, who works at the Mountain Area Health Education Center, supports […]

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 […]

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

Five companies, $30 billion over five years: North Carolina announces its Medicaid managed care selections

February 5, 2019 by Sarah Ovaska

Five companies, $30 billion over five years: North Carolina announces its Medicaid managed care selections - North Carolina Health News

The contracts will go to three out-of-state companies, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and one group made up of providers who partnered with a large managed care company.

By Sarah Ovaska-Few North Carolina’s state health agency named the five managed care groups who will receive a combined $6 billion in annual Medicaid contracts, ushering in a massive overhaul of how the state cares for some of its most vulnerable residents. The announcement Monday was expected, the most recent step after the Republican-led state […]

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 […]

Debate over Certificate of Need Laws Returns at Legislature

June 28, 2016 by Rose Hoban

Debate over Certificate of Need Laws Returns at Legislature - North Carolina Health News

A bill to change how the state regulates hospitals and other health care facilities gets an airing at the legislature. By Rose Hoban In a debate that has become an annual ritual at the General Assembly, Senate lawmakers have proposed repealing North Carolina’s certificate of need laws, the suite of statutes that dictates the size […]

Public Health Directors Strategize for Uncertain Future

January 27, 2016 by Editor

Public Health Directors Strategize for Uncertain Future - North Carolina Health News

Health reform and now Medicaid reform have changed funding streams for local public health departments. The state’s health directors gathered last week to learn from one another how to survive.

By Rose Hoban In the past five years, state budget dollars for public health departments have been cut, a federal fund for public health prevention has been exhausted and health departments face retroactive cuts to Medicaid reimbursements back to 2011. Now the income stream provided to health departments by Medicaid is likely to change dramatically […]

Getting patients in to see primary care practitioners is key to the Affordable Care Act. Image courtesy DIBP Images, flickr creative commons.

N.C. An Innovator in Health Care, National Expert Says

April 21, 2015 by Editor

N.C. An Innovator in Health Care, National Expert Says - North Carolina Health News

National speakers come to Raleigh to laud the state’s primary care landscape. By Jen Ferris As a solo family practitioner in a rural area, Karen Smith relies on innovation to keep her Raeford office humming. For Smith, whose office is home to the town’s only fiber optic internet connection, technology is a vital lifeline that […]

NC Docs Face Retroactive Medicaid Rate Cut

March 3, 2015 by Editor

NC Docs Face Retroactive Medicaid Rate Cut - North Carolina Health News

Last year’s budget called for reduced reimbursement for physicians providing Medicaid. But the cuts have not been effective – until now. By Rose Hoban In the 2014 state budget passed last August, state lawmakers inserted what could be considered a poison pill for Medicaid providers: a 3 percent pay cut that for specialists could be […]

Tobacco, Guns and a Radio Gig: A UNC Doc’s Colorful Career

December 12, 2014 by Editor

Tobacco, Guns and a Radio Gig: A UNC Doc’s Colorful Career - North Carolina Health News

A UNC doctor forges a hybrid path, with groundbreaking research on tobacco use and gun safety while still treating patients.

By Jennifer Ferris MedPage Today/ North Carolina Health News One day in clinic, two years ago, a patient handed Adam Goldstein a request for a concealed weapon permit, soliciting his signature. The family physician didn’t know what to do. “What do you mean, fill this out on a patient? First off, what do I know […]

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