Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic include the importance of keeping money in savings to cushion an economic shutdown. Accurate and transparent data, we’ve learned, is critical. Restrictions to freedom must be temporary. Emergency calls for innovation, whether that’s receiving health care through telemedicine, learning and working online, or expanding opportunities by lifting long–held restrictions. By making strong fiscal principles work within a tight budget, North Carolinians have...
Military spouses and veterans could find it easier to get jobs in North Carolina. The House Judiciary Committee approved House Bill 1053 on Thursday, June 4, and it heads to the House’s Homeland Security, Military, and Veterans Affairs committee. The bill reduces regulatory barriers and fast-track the occupational licensure process for military applicants, veterans, and...
Doctors who fled the health insurance system to offer transparent prices and more personal care got a boost from state lawmakers. The Senate passed House Bill 471, 46-0, Wednesday, June 3, shielding direct primary care doctors — doctors who accept monthly cash payments rather than insurance — from Department of Insurance regulation. The bill returns...
Unemployment, homelessness, depression, and a host of mental health issues are on the rise for North Carolina’s military veterans. Veterans face challenges even during prosperous times. But COVID-19’s social distancing mandates and the economic shutdown have taken an outsized toll on those who were teetering before the pandemic hit. Veteran advocates have seen a sharp...
The coronavirus forced reforms that could help patients access telemedicine and affordable health care, experts said during the “COVID-19 and Telehealth: A New Era In Virtual Care” Shaftesbury Society meeting Monday, May 18. COVID-19 transformed virtual health care in North Carolina. The virus dismantled regulatory restrictions on telehealth, blocked in-person medical visits, and pushed providers...
Months now into the COVID–19 quarantine, we’re still probably some time away from a new normal, however that looks. But the forced quarantine and slowdown has given us time to see opportunities, reflect on what’s important and learn lessons worth carrying forward. Family has taken on a new significance in all our lives. Moms and dads working from home while learning to homeschool and keep little ones entertained...
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many questions with precious few answers. It’s tough to debate otherwise. A dearth of data, beyond the numbers of confirmed cases and deaths, allowing people to make reasonable decisions about their safety — and returning to some sense of normalcy — is clearly problematic. It’s just one aspect as a...
N.C. House members took on a host of time-sensitive issues arising from the COVID-19 pandemic during a Wednesday, April 29, meeting of the House Pensions and Retirement Committee. They also voted to more than triple their death benefits, despite worries that raising payments from $15,000 to $50,000 during the coronavirus outbreak would look bad. The...
An 87-year-old doctor set up a hotspot in a rural eastern North Carolina parking lot to treat patients who don’t have internet access and can’t do virtual visits at home. But only one in four patients at Roanoke Chowan Community Health Centers has reliable transportation — and doctors who want to use recent telemedicine reforms...
Lawmakers will consider a $688 million spending bill and a series of policy reforms, after money and policy draft bills passed the House Committee on COVID-19 Health Care Working Group Thursday, April 23. The $688 million draft funding bill would pour federal money into universities, hospitals, and the state’s Medicaid program. Its policy counterpart would...
The coronavirus outbreak is ravaging North Carolina’s health care system — threatening to shutter medical practices and worsen shortages of care during the coronavirus surge. Across North Carolina, health care workers and practices are taking an economic beating. With elective procedures canceled and patients wary, revenue streams are dry. Overhead expenses remain, forcing many to...
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