The coronavirus, by its very nature, is forcing regulators, insurers, and doctors to embrace telemedicine. The Trump administration scrapped Medicare’s restrictions on telehealth, freeing doctors to treat seniors with telemedicine. The administration is pushing state Medicaid programs to track Medicare’s higher reimbursements for telehealth, and some…
The possibility of a Republican version of Medicaid expansion has died in North Carolina. Republicans in the House had flirted with a version of Medicaid expansion that would extend coverage only to low-income working adults. But now that a federal appeals court has struck down work…
It was a tumultuous year for lawmakers in the General Assembly. Lasting well into October, this ‘long session’ was unusually long compared to years past. As will be the case in the 2020 election cycle, health care dominated the issues discussed during policymaking in this session. Many bills related…
Time is running out, and Medicaid transformation is imperiled. State representatives began questioning whether Medicaid managed care will fail under its current timeline. The concerns came during a Wednesday, Oct. 23, meeting of the House Health Committee. If a state budget isn’t passed…
Hubert Humphrey once said, “The ultimate moral test of any government is the way it treats three groups of its citizens. First, those in the dawn of life — our children. Second, those in the shadows of life — our needy, our sick, our handicapped. Third, those in the twilight…
North Carolina should not let its licensing laws block rural residents from accessing out-of-state specialists as long as those physicians are in good standing with their home states’ medical boards.
The state’s tax-supported managed care agencies for mental health are a mess. That’s the gist of an audit released Monday, May 6, by State Auditor Beth Wood. It rebuked the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services’ oversight of seven Local Management Entities/Managed Care Organizations. And…
The state Department of Health and Human Services improperly paid more than $100 million in Medicaid claims during fiscal year 2018, State Auditor Beth Wood reported. An audit released Monday, April 8, highlighted a series of errors and weaknesses in DHHS operations. Some…
North Carolina’s largest insurer has brokered an agreement with three national health care companies to open intensive primary care clinics this year in areas lacking services. “When patients with multiple health issues have access to intensive primary care, we know they’re more satisfied, and we know…
There’s no extra money. The 2019-20 General Assembly session is well under way. Bills are being filed and committees are meeting, but the attention will soon fall on the biennial budget, which the governor introduced this week and included new and expanded spending, including a 9.1…
