The Triad and Northwest North Carolina will host three public forums on the state’s Medicaid reform plan. Rick Brajer, the state’s health secretary, unveiled the plan March 1, telling legislators that a key goal is to enhance clinician engagement and support for better patient care at lower cost. Read more

I had the pleasure of taking care of a North Carolina constituent recently. She is in her early 60s with severe heart failure acquired as a genetic abnormality. She works in a small diner here and makes $9,000 a year. She needs a defibrillator, which costs from $50,000 to $80,000. Read more

Dozens of well-known North Carolina writers gathered at the state Capitol on Saturday to protest Republican policies they say are hurting public education, access to health care and voting rights. The group included bestselling authors Clyde Edgerton, Allan Gurganus and Margaret Maron. They read a statement calling for “a new governor and a new government” so the state will have …

At a time when the Affordable Care Act is under constant partisan fire despite its successes, when lawmakers in North Carolina look to cut health care benefits, when Medicaid, the federal/state health plan for the poor and disabled, is stretched thin – Community Care of North Carolina is a bright light. It works. It works very well. Read more

To me, the biggest issue is all of the South has not taken any of the expansion funds, and I’m not sure how that is mitigated with privatized businesses coming in. Read more

The Medicaid gap was created when North Carolina’s lawmakers refused to accept the ACA’s option to expand the federally funded health care program. North Carolina is one of 19 remaining states – also including South Carolina – that have not expanded Medicaid as the ACA intended. In those states, people who fall below the federal poverty line get nothing while …

The legislature should also consider expanding a Medicaid waiver program to include more services for people with Alzheimer’s, saving money over time by delaying placement in long-term care facilities, the report says. In 2013, the state had a wait list of over 8,000 for the program, Zolotor said, with an average wait time of two years. Read more

Local General Assembly candidates got a chance to hear voter concerns in person during a candidate forum Tuesday night hosted by the League of Women Voters of Henderson County. Read more

North Carolina continues to receive mixed grades on how well it is performing related to child health, according to a report card released today. Read more