Press Releases

PRESS RELEASE — NC Medicaid is the recipient of the National Association of Medicaid Directors’ 2024 Spotlight Award. This recognition for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services comes as more than 570,000 people have enrolled in Medicaid expansion in the 11 months since its Dec. 1, 2023, launch. The record enrollment in year one is almost the total 600,000 that were estimated to enroll in Medicaid expansion over two years.

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced more than $129 million in food assistance has been distributed to more than one million children and families during the first SUN Bucks summer in North Carolina.

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, in collaboration with the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs, will host a live fireside chat and tele-town hall on Thursday, Nov. 14, from 6 to 7 p.m., to discuss the updated flu and COVID-19 vaccines and other steps to protect tribal communities against severe respiratory illness, hospitalization and long-term respiratory health complications. Panelists will also discuss ways people can find nearby health care providers and access care, as well as how to access free or low-cost vaccines.

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will host a live fireside chat and tele-town hall on Tuesday, Nov. 12, from 6 to 7 p.m., to discuss how updated vaccines, including flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus, help protect communities against severe illness, hospitalization and long-term health complications. The event, originally set to take place in October, was postponed due to Hurricane Helene. Following the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene across the state, NCDHHS and participants will also share health-related resources available to support communities during disaster recovery.

PRESS RELEASE — In response to Hurricane Helene, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is providing one-time disaster supplement benefits to help households already receiving Food and Nutrition Services in 23 counties. This supplemental payment was automatically loaded onto participants’ Electronic Benefit Transfer cards Sunday and are now available for use. There is no action FNS participants need to take to receive the benefit. The total benefit is more than $16 million that was issued to 68,000 households and 135,000 FNS participants in western North Carolina. The benefit will bring FNS recipients up to the maximum benefit level they can receive for their monthly benefit for one month.

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announces $5 million to help providers build capacity and implement the Collaborative Care Model in primary care offices across the state. Through the Collaborative Care Model, primary care providers work with an integrated behavioral health case manager and a psychiatric consultant to monitor and treat patients for mild to moderate behavioral health conditions. The need for integrated medical and behavioral health care is greater than ever as rates of anxiety and depression have substantially increased following the COVID-19 pandemic.

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and local health departments are working with lodging establishments impacted by Hurricane Helene to help them reopen safely. Hotels and motels are encouraged to submit Emergency Operations Plans to their local health department so they can reopen as quickly as possible while water systems and infrastructure continues to be repaired in western North Carolina.

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will host a live fireside chat and tele-town hall on Tuesday, Oct. 29, from 6 to 7 p.m., to discuss what to know and ways to apply for health care coverage, including NC Medicaid, during open enrollment.

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is announcing a one-day extension for people in Alexander, Buncombe, Haywood, Macon and McDowell counties to apply for benefits through the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to help them buy food for their families. The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved the extension following feedback from the counties that requested the one-day extension for in-person applications. As of Wednesday, more than 105,000 individuals had been approved to receive D-SNAP benefits.

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced $2.9 million in federal funding to help increase crisis counseling services for people impacted by Hurricane Helene. The funding is part of the Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training Program administered by the U. S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which is available to states to address behavioral health care needs and support relief for people in disaster-impacted communities.

MEDIA ADVISORY — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services invites media to two virtual events being presented in honor of National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

MEDIA ADVISORY — North Carolina Health and Human Services Secretary Kody H. Kinsley will get his fall flu and COVID-19 vaccines on Friday at Health Park Pharmacy in Raleigh. Secretary Kinsley will get both vaccines at 10:30 a.m. and hold a brief media availability after.

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced free well disinfection and well water collection kits are available for communities impacted by Hurricane Helene. Local health departments in western North Carolina will distribute kits for households with private wells that were flooded or damaged by the storm.

MEDIA ADVISORY — North Carolina Health and Human Services Secretary Kody H. Kinsley will join state and federal leaders to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the North Carolina Disability Determination Services Program on Wednesday, Oct. 23, at 4 p.m. at the Governor’s Mansion in Raleigh. The group will highlight the 70 years of teamwork in supporting North Carolinians who are applying for disability benefits. The North Carolina Disability Determination Services (NC DDS) is the seventh largest DDS in the nation and since 2002 NC DDS staff have assisted with more than 3.3 million disability applications for people in North Carolina.

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will host a live Spanish-language Cafecito and tele-town hall on Wednesday, Oct. 23, from 6 to 7 p.m., to discuss how seasonal vaccines, including flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus, help protect communities against severe illness, hospitalization and long-term health complications. Following the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene, NCDHHS and participants will also share health-related information and resources available to support Hispanic and Latino communities during disaster recovery.

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is supporting child care facilities to reopen as safely and quickly as possible after Hurricane Helene to ensure families in storm-impacted communities have access to child care services. More than 200 facilities in the 25 major disaster counties in western North Carolina were impacted by the storm, with 55 centers having damage that will prevent them reopening for the foreseeable future.

READOUT — North Carolina Health and Human Services Secretary Kody H. Kinsley traveled to Henderson and Buncombe counties Thursday to survey damage and meet with people impacted by Hurricane Helene. Secretary Kinsley was joined by Senators Jim Burgin and Julie Mayfield and began the day meeting with people who have relocated to one of the state-operated shelters in Fletcher, N.C. The group then traveled to the Henderson County Department of Public Health and spoke to Health Director Dave Jenkins and Social Services Director Lorie Horne. The visit to Henderson County concluded with a stop by the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Center in the Blue Ridge Commons Shopping Center. Beginning tomorrow, people impacted by Hurricane Helene who are not currently an FNS participant will be able to apply for assistance to buy food for their families.

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is reporting the first flu-related death of the 2024-25 flu season. An adult in the Charlotte metropolitan area died due to complications of influenza during the second week of October. To protect the privacy of the family, additional information will not be released.

MEDIA ADVISORY — North Carolina Health and Human Services Secretary Kody H. Kinsley will travel to Buncombe and Henderson counties tomorrow with Senator Jim Burgin to survey damage and meet with people impacted by Hurricane Helene in these counties. They will first stop in Henderson County at the Disaster-SNAP (D-SNAP) Assistance Center in Hendersonville and then travel to the Henderson County Health Department to discuss recovery efforts and hold a brief media availability. Later, they will travel to Buncombe County with stops at the General Public Shelter at the Western NC Agricultural Center and BeLoved Asheville, where there will be a brief media availability.

PRESS RELEASE — As cooler weather arrives in western North Carolina, the NC Department of Health and Human Services urges individuals, families and communities impacted by Hurricane Helene to take safety precautions when heating homes, buildings or other enclosed spaces.