The surge in overdose deaths from opioids and other drugs has dominated the local, state and national spotlight for several years now and resulted in task forces, advisory councils, committees, commissions and work groups convened by the General Assembly and elected officials. Sadly, the most critical and obvious solution to effectively addressing the opioid epidemic in a meaningful and sustainable …

Last week, the Trump administration delivered another major blow to the Affordable Care Act by drastically cutting funding for “navigators” — counselors at nonprofits who help people enroll in health insurance. Next year, total North Carolina navigator funding will drop a jaw-dropping 84 percent, from more than $3 million to $500,000. Read more   

Tim Messenger has worked hard all his life – most recently as inventory manager for a Gaston County car dealer. He was laid off in January 2014, just as the bank foreclosed on his house and his divorce became final. While looking for work, he lived in his car for 10 weeks. After two traffic accidents in 2015, related to …

The latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau included some frustrating information about North Carolina and it wasn’t just the state’s sluggish below the national average growth in household median income that the think tanks on the right have mistakenly trumpeted as good news. The data also showed that the percentage of people without health coverage in the state dropped …

The Obama administration is touting a new argument for why states like North Carolina should expand Medicaid. Federal researchers found in states that already have, the premiums people pay on the Obamacare exchanges are lower. The Affordable Care Act was designed to cover the poorest people through Medicaid expansion, but the U.S. Supreme Court made that optional for states. North …

New analysis finds Medicaid expansion brings down Marketplace rates – another benefit on top of gains for low-income individuals and state economies   Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a report showing that expanding Medicaid lowers Marketplace premiums by about 7 percent in those states. “Today’s report identifies yet another group that would gain if all …

The state on Monday stopped adding more children to a Medicaid program that pays for in-home nursing care and other benefits. The program is called Community Alternatives Program for Children, or the CAP/C waiver, which offers care to “medically fragile” children who need feeding tubes, use ventilators or who cannot learn basic activities such as dressing or bathing. CAP/C is …

The following is the opinion of Capitol Broadcasting Company. Imagine this. Someone enters an office where Gov. Pat McCrory, Senate President Protem Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore are present. “Gentlemen, let’s look at the facts. North Carolinians are already sending their hard-earned federal tax dollars to help pay for Medicaid expansion in 31 other states and they do not have …

A young woman brought her baby for a well child check. A family physician who cared for her and her child, I casually asked, “When is your next appointment with me?” “I can’t come in,” she said. “I’m not on Medicaid, and I can’t afford a visit.” Her child qualified for Medicaid but, with lower income limits for parents, she …