Topics Related to NC Medicaid

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has been awarded a $2.5 million grant from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to expand school-based health care in North Carolina. The grant will support NCDHHS’ ongoing work to ensure school-aged children and their families have equitable access to health care and behavioral health services readily available in the same places where they learn and grow.

PRESS RELEASE — More than half a million North Carolinians have now enrolled in Medicaid expansion since the program began seven months ago. Beneficiaries are now able get the quality health care they need at low cost. Governor Roy Cooper was joined by North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kody Kinsley, Dr. Karen L. Smith MD, FAAFP, a family physician in Raeford and Verlina Lomick,CHW-IV, Director of Community Outreach & Advocacy for Kintegra Health and health care advocates to celebrate reaching this major milestone, which had originally been projected to take as long as two years.

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services continues to respond to the recent increase in syphilis and congenital syphilis cases with NC Medicaid now covering point of care rapid testing for syphilis and HIV. This new coverage, effective Jan. 1, 2024, allows Medicaid recipients to access rapid testing directly from their Medicaid-enrolled provider.

PRESS RELEASE — Today, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and the NC Department of Health and Human Services announced new actions leveraging the state’s Medicaid program that will encourage hospitals to relieve a potential $4 billion in existing medical debt for approximately two million low and middle-income North Carolinians and ease the burden of medical debt in the future.

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is launching its Behavioral Health and Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities Tailored Plans, a new kind of NC Medicaid Managed Care health plan, on Monday, July 1.

PRESS RELEASE – This year, North Carolina is celebrating 50 years of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, better known as WIC.

PRESS RELEASE — Tailored Plans are a new kind of NC Medicaid Managed Care health plan for approximately 210,000 beneficiaries with a serious mental illness, a serious emotional disturbance, a severe substance use disorder, an intellectual/developmental disability or a traumatic brain injury in North Carolina. They will cover doctor visits, prescription drugs and services for mental health, substance use, I/DD and traumatic brain injury in one plan. Eligible North Carolinians who are covered by NC Medicaid Direct will be covered by a Tailored Plan beginning July 1. The name of their Medicaid plan will change but the services covered remain the same. A bilingual toolkit with accessible resources is now available for people impacted by the transition to Tailored Plans.

PRESS RELEASE — Approximately 14,000 North Carolina veterans and their families are likely eligible for the state’s newly expanded Medicaid benefits. To ensure North Carolina veterans receive the support they are eligible for, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will help veterans who are newly eligible for Medicaid apply to Food and Nutrition Services (also known as food stamps or SNAP), a benefit program that helps pay for groceries.

PRESS RELEASE — As part of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ ongoing effort to respond to the rise in syphilis and congenital syphilis cases and increase access to treatment, NC Medicaid will now cover an additional treatment for syphilis and congenital syphilis, Extencilline. This new coverage is being added to address the ongoing national shortage of Penicillin G Benzathine (Bicillin L-A), the first-line treatment for syphilis. In response to this additional resource being offered for people in North Carolina, State Health Director and NCDHHS Chief Medical Officer Dr. Elizabeth Cuervo Tilson released this statement:

PRESS RELEASE — Approximately 6,800 people in North Carolina have sickle cell disease, of which approximately 95% are Black or African American. This health disparity is paralleled at the national level with more than 100,000 people across the country battling this painful illness. New therapies offer an opportunity to provide long needed relief to these individuals and close long-standing disparities in our country.