Press Releases

PRESS RELEASE — Since the state expanded who is eligible for Medicaid on Dec. 1, 2023, 314,101 North Carolinians have enrolled in the program and now have access to comprehensive health care, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ Medicaid Expansion Enrollment Dashboard. The dashboard was updated today and includes the number of people who have enrolled as of Jan. 12, 2024.

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will host a live fireside chat and tele-town hall on Thursday, Jan. 25, from 6 to 7 p.m., to discuss how people can support and improve their mental well-being, where to find resources, when to reach out for help and how to support loved ones who are struggling or in crisis.

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is committed to improving youth behavioral health in North Carolina and is leveraging the historic investment from the NC General Assembly to ensure everyone receives the care they need when and where they need it. One of the key initiatives is the Children and Families Specialty Plan — a first of its kind statewide health plan to ensure access to comprehensive physical and behavioral health services for Medicaid-enrolled children, youth and families served by the child welfare system. NCDHHS today released an updated policy paper about the plan, as NCDHHS prepares to launch the plan later this year.

MEDIA ADVISORY — To increase access to contraception in North Carolina, NCDHHS through NC Medicaid, is now enrolling pharmacists as Medicaid providers and paying for contraceptive counseling services provided in pharmacies. State health leaders will attend an event on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. to celebrate the actions taken by NC Medicaid to make these important services more accessible to North Carolinians.

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will host a live fireside chat and tele-town hall Wednesday, Jan. 10, from 6 to 7 p.m., to discuss Medicaid expansion, including impacts on rural communities, who is newly eligible and ways to apply for health care coverage.

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will host a live Cafecito and tele-town hall on Thursday, Jan. 11, from 6 to 7 p.m., to discuss Medicaid expansion, who is newly eligible, ways to apply and which qualified immigration statuses are eligible for health care coverage.

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is providing 5,000 free residential radon test kits during Radon Action Month.

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today updated its weekly Respiratory Virus Summary Dashboard, which shows high volumes of people being seen in hospital emergency departments with respiratory illness symptoms across North Carolina. NCDHHS is urging people to get tested and seek treatment early to prevent severe illness. People with mild symptoms should seek testing and treatment from their regular health care provider, urgent care or a telehealth provider instead of going to the emergency department during this spike in COVID-19 , flu, RSV and other respiratory illnesses.

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services launched a dashboard to track monthly enrollment in Medicaid for people eligible through expansion.

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is joining southeastern states, insurers and national leaders in health care and public health for a collaborative effort to combat the congenital syphilis crisis. Participants from NCDHHS and other states’ public health and Medicaid programs aligned on recommendations for standard syphilis screening in pregnant women and for providers to adhere to the requirements around control measures for diseases like congenital syphilis. A group of states agreed to come together to bring case counts down, particularly in the southeast.