Let's avoid the governmental quick fixes that actually make the problems worse, even if we may benefit from their short-term relief, and instead focus on keeping things affordable for consumers through market-based solutions.
On Thursday, the North Carolina Senate will vote on Senate Bill 20, the "Safe Surrender Infants" bill, which aims to expand the state's newborn safe surrender law. The bill, sponsored by Senator Jim Burgin, R-Lee, cleared the Rules and Operations Committee on Wednesday after being approved by the Health Care and Judiciary Committees.
Carolina Journal is taking a brief look at each new member of the General Assembly — 10 in the Senate and 11 in the House. We look at where they’ve been, what they’re doing now, and what we might expect them to do as lawmakers. The 2021-22 session began in late January. Expect COVID-19 and the ongoing...
Speaker of the House Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, says nearly 50 N.C. Democratic House lawmakers and candidates have backed a dangerous pledge to defund the police, but House Minority Leader Darren Jackson, D-Wake, says that’s a lie. During a Monday, Sept. 14, news conference, Moore attacked Democrats for signing a pledge to accomplish a list of policy...
Flags and signs. “Seven Nation Army” and “Smoke on the Water” blaring from speakers in the bed of a pickup. Car horns blaring and Harleys revving. Dozens of people, including a handful of families, gathering across the street from the Legislative Building, openly violating Gov. Roy Cooper’s Executive Order 121 banning gatherings of more than...
From health care workers to wait staff, from ride-share drivers to truck drivers, North Carolinians, like the rest of the country, are in for a rough few weeks, possibly even a rough few months or more. Demanding that the federal government act isn’t a solution. It’s a delay that we can’t afford. Not right now....
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 requirements on Arkansas’ Medicaid program, Medicaid work requirements across...
Rural hospitals are finding it more difficult to stay open. Since 2006, 11 rural hospitals in North Carolina have closed — seven in the past six years, as more people move to cities and suburbs. “Access to Health Care in Rural Areas” was the topic of discussion as a panel of state lawmakers and health...
Partisanship often dominates contemporary political dialogue, but it’s possible for Republicans and Democrats to find at least some common ground. A panel of thought leaders met Tuesday, Oct. 1, in Salisbury’s Norvell Theatre for the second of four events in the Hometown Debates Series. The panelists, which included former Rep. Bill Brawley, R-Mecklenburg, found a...
Expanding Medicaid in North Carolina would reverberate throughout the state in disparate yet significant ways, affecting rural communities, people without jobs, as well as the uninsured and insured alike. Thought leaders gathered Tuesday, Sept. 24, in Lexington for the first in a series of discussions on Medicaid and health care. N.C. Institute of Political Leadership’s...
The budget passed the N.C. House in a controversial veto override, but the debate over Medicaid expansion is far from over. House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, promised a vote on Medicaid expansion after a veto override passed. He said members will debate the Republican version of the plan, House Bill 655, this week. The Senate,...
