Health

a doctor consults with a mother and daughter in an examination room

Out of legislators’ sight, North Carolinians watched and waited for Medicaid expansion

BY: - September 27, 2023

Evita Bass, director of a childcare center in Hillsborough, lives with constant pain from three wisdom teeth that need to be pulled and back pain from scoliosis.  Bass, 31, has not had health insurance since she was 26 and on her mother’s insurance. She has always made too much to qualify for Medicaid and too […]

Medicaid expansion

Casino-Medicaid bill also includes proposal for spending ARPA windfall

BY: - September 19, 2023

Republican legislators’ proposed legislation to pair the approval of four new casinos in the state with Medicaid expansion also details how North Carolina would spend a “temporary savings fund” from the American Rescue Plan Act. Most, but not all, of the cash would go toward health-related programs and initiatives. It’s not clear if the bill […]

fentanyl pills scattered on a black background

University of Montana working on vaccine for fentanyl, heroin overdose

BY: - September 18, 2023

A vaccine to prevent overdosing on fentanyl and one for heroin are in the works at the University of Montana and partner institutions. Human trials are expected to start in early 2024 for both vaccines, according to UM. UM researcher Jay Evans, who leads a campus center working on the vaccines and co-founded university corporate […]

Hann Henson

“Where is there to go?” He needs gender-affirming surgery, but NC is fighting to deny coverage.

BY: - September 14, 2023

This story was originally published by Pro Publica, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. In the spring of 2022, Hann Henson accepted a job as a communications specialist for a North Carolina school district. Not long after his insurance kicked […]

a nurse gives an injection

Food and Drug Administration approves COVID boosters for upcoming season

BY: - September 11, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved the latest round of COVID-19 boosters, as public health officials brace for another cold and flu season. An advisory panel at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is scheduled to vote on recommendations Tuesday, the final step in the process before people will […]

COMMENTARY
a prescription container filled with money

It’s time to make prescription medications affordable for all

BY: - September 8, 2023

Last week, Medicare announced a list of ten drugs for lower drug price negotiations, kicking off a process that for the first time will require drug corporations to negotiate prices for some of the most expensive medicines in Medicare. Under the new Medicare negotiations law, pharmaceutical companies will no longer have monopoly power to set […]

Registered nurses rally outside Mission Hospital in Asheville.

Some states back hospital mergers despite record of service cuts, price hikes

BY: - September 7, 2023

Some illnesses and injuries — say, a broken ankle — can send you to numerous health care providers. You might start at urgent care but end up in the emergency room. Referred to an orthopedist, you might eventually land in an outpatient surgery center. Four different stops on your road to recovery. But as supersized […]

Photos of young overdose victims on display at an overdose awareness event in Rockville, Md.

Death rates for people under 40 have skyrocketed. Blame fentanyl.

BY: - September 5, 2023

A new Stateline analysis shows that U.S. residents under 40 were relatively unscathed by COVID-19 in the pandemic but fell victim to another killer: accidental drug overdose deaths. Death rates in the age group were up by nearly a third in 2021 over 2018, and last year were still 21% higher. COVID-19 was a small […]

Prescription drugs sit on a pharmacist’s counter

It’s not just CVS. Other big pharmacy chains cut hours, close stores

BY: - September 1, 2023

Walmart is cutting hours at its busy pharmacies, while Rite Aid — which is already selling off stores — is expected to file for bankruptcy protection, news organizations have reported over the past week. The news comes after inspectors have found that CVS’s understaffed stores in Ohio have in some instances lacked controls to protect […]

After lead found in several city parks, Durham offers free blood tests for kids, pregnant people, starting today

BY: - August 31, 2023

People who are pregnant and young children can have their blood tested for lead — for free — at the Durham County Health Department. The program starts today; no insurance is required. Children must be between 6 months and 6 years old. Lead is a neurotoxin. Children with very high levels of lead in their […]

COMMENTARY
a bus with the words "Lower Costs Better Care" on the side sits in Times Square, New York City

Expanding affordable health care in North Carolina

BY: - August 31, 2023

Just over a year ago, the Inflation Reduction Act became law. And now, I’m thrilled to be traveling coast-to-coast on a national bus tour with Protect Our Care to celebrate that achievement, and to share the news about all the changes to our health care system in the past few years under the Biden administration. […]

a doctor consults with a mother and daughter in an examination room

For North Carolina: No state budget means no Medicaid expansion this fall

BY: - August 29, 2023

The failure of North Carolina’s legislature to finalize the state budget is profoundly affecting one of the most notable accomplishments of the 2023 session. The NC Department of Health and Human Services now says Medicaid expansion will not launch Oct. 1 as they had fervently hoped. While a bipartisan majority of legislators passed expansion (HB […]