Health Care

U.S. House passes bill to cap insulin prices

By Alanna Joyner / April 5, 2022 / Comments Off on U.S. House passes bill to cap insulin prices

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill with a bipartisan vote that would limit the monthly price of insulin to $35 for insured patients – helping millions of Americans and North Carolinians living with diabetes. According to the Health Care Cost Institute, between 2012 and 2016, the price of insulin almost doubled.…

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Affordable Care Act Anniversary Highlights Need for NC Medicaid Expansion

By Alanna Joyner / March 24, 2022 / Comments Off on Affordable Care Act Anniversary Highlights Need for NC Medicaid Expansion

Yesterday marked the 12-year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) being signed into law. For the past decade, the landmark health law has expanded health care coverage to millions of Americans, lowered costs and secured lifesaving protections for hard-working families across the country. Despite the overwhelming benefits and added critical protections, North Carolina remains…

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Millions of vulnerable Americans likely to fall off Medicaid once the federal public health emergency ends

By Alanna Joyner / March 14, 2022 / Comments Off on Millions of vulnerable Americans likely to fall off Medicaid once the federal public health emergency ends

With the federal public health emergency ending next month, up to 16 million Americans, including children, may lose Medicaid coverage unless the expanded health care coverage is extended.  Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act passed in March 2020, states were prevented from removing Medicaid recipients from the program – giving millions of Americans health…

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North Carolina Lawmakers Eye Path to Long-Awaited Medicaid Expansion

By Alanna Joyner / February 22, 2022 / Comments Off on North Carolina Lawmakers Eye Path to Long-Awaited Medicaid Expansion

On Friday, a newly formed committee met to discuss Medicaid expansion amid nursing shortages and struggling rural hospitals around the state. The new panel of state lawmakers studying the potential for an expansion of health care access to the more than 500,000 North Carolinians who don’t have health insurance comes after decades of stalemates surrounding…

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House budget writers adopt the extreme view that NC constitution is optional

By Alanna Joyner / August 16, 2021 / Comments Off on House budget writers adopt the extreme view that NC constitution is optional

Last week, the Republican-led state House unveiled it’s 600+ page budget that falls short of truly investing in North Carolina. House lawmakers voted 72 to 41 on Thursday to give final approval to their $25.7 billion budget plan that prioritizes tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy while ignoring the needs in education, public health…

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CDC announces limited, targeted eviction moratorium until early October

By Alanna Joyner / August 4, 2021 / Comments Off on CDC announces limited, targeted eviction moratorium until early October

On Tuesday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a new eviction moratorium amid the rising spread of the delta variant,saying that evicting people could be detrimental to public health and would interfere with efforts to slow the pandemic. This comes after the previous federal and state eviction moratoriums ended last weekend — …

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Amid Medicaid’s 56th Anniversary, Red state Medicaid expansion momentum continues to grow

By Alanna Joyner / July 27, 2021 / Comments Off on Amid Medicaid’s 56th Anniversary, Red state Medicaid expansion momentum continues to grow

This Friday, July 30, marks the 56th anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson signing into law the amendment that created Medicare and Medicaid. For 56 years, Medicaid has helped make health care affordable and accessible for millions across the country.  Despite the benefits, several states, including North Carolina, continue to halt the expansion of the…

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President Biden coming to Raleigh this week to encourage COVID vaccination efforts

By Alanna Joyner / June 25, 2021 / Comments Off on President Biden coming to Raleigh this week to encourage COVID vaccination efforts

On Thursday, President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit Raleigh as part of his continued efforts to encourage people across the country to get vaccinated. This marks President Biden’s first visit to North Carolina since taking office. The North Carolina visit comes as part of President Biden’s “National Month of Action,” a nationwide effort by…

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The Progressive Pulse: Democrats decry racial health disparities in their renewed push for Medicaid expansion

By Alanna Joyner / April 14, 2021 / Comments Off on The Progressive Pulse: Democrats decry racial health disparities in their renewed push for Medicaid expansion

Last week, state Democrats renewed their calls for Medicaid expansion in an effort to address the state’s long-standing racial health disparities and to help out the state’s economic recovery from the pandemic.  Under President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, the state would receive more than $1.7 billion in federal funding in addition to incentives targeted at…

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The Washington Post: The GOP’s anti-transgender bills are ignorance in action

By Alanna Joyner / April 13, 2021 / Comments Off on The Washington Post: The GOP’s anti-transgender bills are ignorance in action

Five years after the state’s notorious House Bill 2 or HB2, Republican legislators are back with a slew of discriminatory bills that targets the state’s transgender and gender-nonconforming communities. North Carolina’s Senate Bill 514, Senate Bill 515, and House Bill 358 mirrors the rising trend of transphobic legislation across the country, blatantly attacking gender-affirming healthcare,…

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