HEALTHCARE

Gov. Josh Stein and other North Carolina leaders say the state has wiped out about $6.5 billion in medical debt as part of a first-of-its-kind program unveiled by the state’s Democrats in 2024.

Floodwaters, rats, and mold once threatened to derail a Haywood County family’s future—until Medicaid helped them find safe housing. Now advocates warn stories like theirs may disappear under Republicans’ “big beautiful bill.”

Lawmakers are not set to return until three weeks after the state is scheduled to enact cuts that could cause some of the most vulnerable residents to lose their life-saving care.

To control costs, nearly all health insurers use a system called prior authorization, which requires patients or their providers to seek approval before they can get certain procedures, tests, and prescriptions.

As Medicaid cuts loom thanks to President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” families across the country, including here in North Carolina, have to contend with the potential loss of benefits.

North Carolina’s lack of child psychiatrists, especially in rural areas, leaves pediatricians to face conditions beyond their specialty. Here’s how the NC Psychiatry Access Line (NC-PAL) helps.

Through a model called direct primary care, more NC employers—like the city of Charlotte—are bypassing insurance and paying doctors directly, “like a gym membership for health care.”

Amid political chatter about vaccines and the government entities that oversee them, it’s understandable to wonder where all this leaves the 2025-26 flu vaccine. In short: Yes, the flu shot is still a thing. And four doctors we spoke to said they recommend you get your flu shot this year.

The General Assembly has still not agreed on a full budget and the “mini-budget” it passed last month fell $319 million short of what is needed to fund Medicaid. The state’s health secretary told lawmakers that if they don’t fill that gap, some services would have to be reduced.

A Medicaid waiver program helps Kinsley Stadler and Emma Staggs thrive in their homes despite significant disabilities. When their moms went to DC to implore Republicans in Congress not to pass huge cuts to Medicaid, some GOP staff locked their doors while others rolled their eyes.