NC prison health care costs soar as population ages
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New SNAP requirements could stress county budgets
By Morgan Casey Border Belt Independent Using a blue pen, Bladen County Board of Commissioners chair Cameron McGill signed 18 letters to state lawmakers in late January. One was for N.C. Speaker of the House Destin Hall. Another for the state Senate’s Republican leader, Phil Berger. Others were addressed to senior chairs of the committees…
A new perk for state workers: free surgery
By Michelle Crouch What if your health plan offered free surgery, but only by surgeons on its approved list? That’s the incentive behind a new program the North Carolina State Health Plan is rolling out for more than 700,000 teachers, state workers and their families. The plan connects members needing certain procedures with a select…
PBM reforms promise relief for NC’s independent pharmacies
By Jaymie Baxley Cole’s Pharmacy, a family-owned drug store in Person County, closed in early February after nearly 70 years, leaving many residents in and around Roxboro with a longer drive for medications and fewer local health care options. Robbie Carver, who managed the pharmacy with his sister, said the increasingly unpredictable reimbursements and fees…
Tens of thousands of mothers were flagged to police over flawed drug tests at childbirth
By Shoshana Walter and Jill Castellano The Marshall Project Ayanna Harris-Rashid was sitting up in bed, her newborn son latched to her breast, one hand scrolling on her phone, when the police called. She was wanted on a felony charge of child neglect. Harris-Rashid had just had her third child in March of 2021. To ease pain and…
ACA enrollment dropped sharply in North Carolina. More people across the state are expected to lose coverage.
By Jacob Biba NCLocal Amid rising costs and the expiration of enhanced subsidies, fewer North Carolina residents enrolled in health coverage under the Affordable Care Act for 2026, according to the latest figures from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. What is ACA Coverage and why do people use it? Signed into law in…
Dentists, oral health advocates urge EPA to use ‘gold standard science’ in its fluoride review
By Anne Blythe When Lee Zeldin, head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, announced almost 10 months ago that the federal regulator would reevaluate research on potential health risks of fluoride in drinking water, he said “sound science” would be used to “advance our mission of protecting human and health and the environment.” Now, with…
