Press Releases

Today, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced broad efforts to work with federal and county partners to provide additional flexibility to people enrolled in the Medicaid program and their health care providers during and after Hurricane Florence.

As North Carolinians prepare for Hurricane Florence, officials with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services are cautioning people about the risks of using gasoline-powered generators and outdoor grills and camp stoves that use charcoal or propane gas in enclosed spaces.

The North Carolina Payers Council, a group of public and private health care payers formed as part of Governor Roy Cooper’s 2017 North Carolina Opioid Action Plan to identify, align and implement policies to combat the opioid crisis, today released a report that identifies a five-pronged approach to address the epidemic.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is joining Governor Roy Cooper and many local, state and federal partners in recognizing September as National Recovery Month. Governor Cooper issued a proclamation this week, noting that more than 700,000 people in North Carolina have a substance use disorder.

The Center for the Support of Families today released two preliminary reform plans, one for child welfare and one for social services. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will use the preliminary recommendations as a roadmap to identify ways to improve support to and oversight of social services programs, enhance child safety and protect children from harm.

Today is Overdose Awareness Day in North Carolina. Proclaimed by Governor Roy Cooper, we're pausing today to remember loved ones lost to overdose and to learn what can be done to help those who struggle with substance use disorder. In 2016, four North Carolinians died each day from unintentional medication or drug overdose.

Governor Roy Cooper issued an executive order directing North Carolina to create an Early Childhood Action Plan. The plan to be developed by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will be devoted to the health, safety, and developmental and academic readiness of young children across the state.

As North Carolina's tobacco-free schools law marks its 10th anniversary, the state has seen cigarette smoking reduce 50 percent among high schoolers since 2008, but the latest N.C. Youth Tobacco Survey, published in June, shows that more than 16 percent of North Carolina high school students use e-cigarettes, and 23 percent stated they are considering use of these products in the coming year.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has $43.9 million available from the Administration for Children and Families to support the Crisis Intervention Program in state fiscal year 2018-19.

Today the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services issued a Request For Proposal (RFP) for organizations wishing to participate in Medicaid managed care as Prepaid Health Plans (PHPs) when the program launches in 2019.