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Trinity Moravian Church, a politically diverse congregation in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has been raising money to retire medical debt in the surrounding community.
After congressional Republicans let expanded subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans expire at the end of last year, some families have decided the price is too great of a financial burden and canceled their coverage.
The research is clear: Among the various complex issues that contribute to suicide, loneliness is a big one. Now, there’s a growing push to address loneliness not just through personal choices but also through public policy.
Patients’ experiences encapsulate breakdowns in a healthcare system that traps patients in debt. The industry’s key players blame one another.
Many telehealth companies have emerged in recent years offering easy access to GLP-1 weight loss drugs as demand has exploded. Meanwhile, researchers and doctors are concerned that some of these online companies aren't properly screening or monitoring patients. “It gives a black eye to telemedicine,” one researcher said.
Republicans promise that $50 billion in new health funding will help rural America. But it’s not expected to aid the years-long effort in North Carolina’s Martin County to reopen its only hospital.
Several states have required their health agencies to take on another job: verifying immigration status among Medicaid recipients and reporting them to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. North Carolina is the latest to pass such a law, and experts expect more to follow.
Some states bar professional midwives from attending home births if they don’t have a nursing license. Their advocates say laws to allow midwife licensing would make home birth safer and more accessible, plus help address a maternity care shortage.
Using Hurricane Helene as a teachable moment, a group of doctors outlined concrete steps that lawmakers can take to reverse a crisis in getting substance use medications during natural disasters.
A bug bite and an allergic reaction ultimately sent a North Carolina woman to the emergency room, where she had a couple of brief chats with a doctor and a dose of medicine. Now she questions why the charges were so high.
Some people find they owe money back for subsidies if their income changed from what they estimated. In 2026, more people may find themselves in this situation — and face higher repayment amounts — if they don’t carefully track their income.
North Carolina rolled out a $3.1 billion insurance plan for kids in foster care, but many doctors did not accept patients on the plan. The state is one of several experimenting with a model that has left kids’ guardians scrambling to find health care providers.
Some Republican state lawmakers and state health associations are pushing back against spending plans under the Trump administration’s $50 billion federal rural health fund. Federal administrators already approved states’ plans, but in many cases, state lawmakers must greenlight spending.
As the number of cases grows to about 1,000 in the Carolinas, health care workers who’ve never seen the vaccine-preventable disease can get caught by surprise.
Louisiana is one of the worst-performing states when it comes to health outcomes of mothers and infants. New Orleans is trying to catch health issues early and get families off to an easier start by adding health visits during the crucial first months of life.
A revolt is afoot in both red and blue states against the use of artificial intelligence in health insurance determinations — and against efforts led by President Donald Trump to tie states’ hands.
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A planned 10-year federal program called Making Care Primary was supposed to help primary care doctors by easing administrative burdens, allowing them to focus on improving patients’ health. A year after the Trump administration eliminated the program, federal officials created an alternative plan that favors companies.
Republicans have said new rules requiring many Medicaid participants to work 80 hours a month will pinpoint unemployed young people who should have jobs. Policy researchers say the rules are more likely to disrupt coverage for middle-aged adults, harming their physical and financial health.
Experts say Affordable Care Act sign-up data won’t be clear until people who were enrolled have paid — or haven't paid — their new, often much higher, premiums.
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