Health Care
With more than one million North Carolinians who have lost their jobs in a system where many workers receive health insurance through their employers and over 49 rural hospitals losing millions per month, the need for Medicaid expansion is paramount. Yet, state lawmakers moved forward in passing the coronavirus relief package with very limited and…
Read MoreOn May 2, the North Carolina General Assembly approved a $1.57 million COVID-19 relief package. Votes in both the House and the Senate during the Saturday session were unanimous, marking the legislature’s first response to the pandemic. The $1.57 billion package contains funding for education, health care, small business loans, food banks, medical research, testing…
Read MoreSince March 15, more than 900,000 North Carolinians have lost their jobs, and in a system where many workers receive health insurance through their employers, most of those people have lost their access to health care too. Many now unemployed workers will not be able to qualify for Medicaid due to North Carolina’s lack of…
Read MoreOn April 6, a team of local health experts released a projection model looking at how COVID-19 could affect North Carolina in the coming months. Since its release, state health officials and Gov. Roy Cooper have implemented measures to slow the spread of the virus and preserve hospital capacity to save lives. As a result,…
Read MoreLast Wednesday, Gov. Roy Cooper outlined the benchmarks North Carolina needs to accomplish first before reopening business during the pandemic. In the press conference, the governor stated that expanded testing capacity, ability to trace contact of all infected people, and improved trends — in terms of the number of cases, hospitalizations, deaths, and the availability…
Read MoreRural areas in North Carolina have seen numerous hospitals closed resulting in dwindling options on where to receive medical care. Out of the 100 counties in North Carolina, seventeen do not have state-licensed hospitals resulting in residents — if they are able — traveling up to 30 miles in some cases to the nearest medical…
Read MoreIn the midst of a public health crisis, various communities are being heavily impacted and the necessity to provide vital information for everyone as society consistently changes due to COVID-19, is important. But that lifesaving information can be lost in translation or limited for those within the deaf community. In a state that has almost…
Read MoreNew projection models released today shows that social distancing practices will significantly reduce the chance that hospitals will be overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients. A team of local health experts determined that if social distance policies remain, predictions of increased cases could lessen — emphasizing the importance of maintaining social distancing. From WRAL: The model shows…
Read MoreAccording to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, North Carolina currently has 1,498 confirmed coronavirus cases across the state. As cases continue to rise, medical professionals remain concerned about lack of protective equipment, medical supplies and the potential for hospitals across the state to become overwhelmed by patients. At the first meeting…
Read MoreUninsured people within the 14 states, including North Carolina, that have not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, could face numerous challenges as COVID-19 cases increase. Almost 5 million people across the country are without access to health care coverage and states that have turned down billions of federal dollars that would have come…
Read More