Health Care

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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The federal pandemic relief bill contains a big carrot to expand Medicaid. Will North Carolina bite?

By Alanna Joyner / March 23, 2021 / Comments Off on The federal pandemic relief bill contains a big carrot to expand Medicaid. Will North Carolina bite?

Today marks the 11th anniversary of the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — a law that reformed the health care system and allowed more than 20 million Americans to gain coverage. Although the law passed over a decade ago, North Carolina remains one of the 12 states that have not adopted Medicaid expansion…

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President Biden signs historic $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill

By Alanna Joyner / March 15, 2021 / Comments Off on President Biden signs historic $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill

President Biden signed a sweeping $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package into law on Thursday, delivering a massive amount of much-needed federal aid for working families, essential workers and individuals who have been impacted by the financial devastation the pandemic has caused.  “This legislation is about giving the backbone of this nation — the essential workers,…

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NC lawmakers unanimously pass $1.7B pandemic relief package in 4 days

By Alanna Joyner / March 8, 2021 / Comments Off on NC lawmakers unanimously pass $1.7B pandemic relief package in 4 days

Last week, the Republican-led North Carolina General Assembly passed it’s COVID-19 relief package. The NC House Bill (HB) 196 appropriated the remaining $1.7 billion in federal money that was allocated to North Carolina in the Congressional relief package passed in December. In a process that lacked transparency in ensuring equitable allocation of public dollars, the…

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