News
Court filing cites $3B cost of retirees’ State Health Plan demands
8+ hour, 8+ min ago (1165+ words) Listen to this story (15 minutes) A 14-year-old lawsuit from North Carolina state government retirees could cost the State Health Plan more than $3 billion if plaintiffs are successful. The plan's lawyers delivered that warning Tuesday to the state Supreme Court. State…...
State Health Plan back in the black after major deficit
1+ mon, 2+ week ago (847+ words) After facing a substantial deficit for 2026 and 2027, the North Carolina State Health Plan (SHP) now has a surplus, thanks to an increase in premiums, funding from the General Assembly, and other cost-cutting measures. Friedman said their trend this year is…...
State Health Plan responds to recent ruling in transgender care case
3+ mon, 5+ day ago (857+ words) The North Carolina State Health Plan announced Wednesday the reinstatement of its "longstanding exclusion of transition-related treatments" typically sought by transgender patients. The announcement arrived on the same day a court case challenging the exclusion officially returned to a federal…...
NC program wipes out $6.5B in medical debt for 2.5M residents
3+ mon, 1+ week ago (478+ words) More than $6.5 billion in medical debt has been eliminated for over 2.5 million North Carolinians in the past year, according to Gov. Josh Stein, who made the announcement Monday, along with North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) Secretary…...
Contingency plan set for state workers affected by Aetna-Duke negotiations
3+ mon, 3+ week ago (803+ words) In the wake of ongoing negotiations between Duke Health and Aetna, the North Carolina State Health Plan Board of Trustees on Friday approved procuring a transition services vendor to help plan members find new health care providers if an agreement…...
Duke Health: Requested Aetna rate hike would have small impact on state workers
3+ mon, 4+ week ago (760+ words) In an emailed statement to Carolina Journal on Friday, Duke Health said it is "actively engaged in good faith negotiations" with health insurance company Aetna, in response to a story that many patients, including over 750,000 state employees covered under the…...
Duke–Aetna dispute could raise premiums, cut coverage for NC's state employees
4+ mon, 2+ day ago (933+ words) Listen to this story (9 minutes) The clock is ticking on negotiations between health insurance company Aetna and Duke Health, which says that unless Aetna raises its reimbursement rates, many patients will lose in-network coverage to Duke's doctors, hospitals, clinics, and…...
Premium increases ahead for State Health Plan members
5+ mon, 5+ day ago (653+ words) In a much anticipated move the State Health Plan Board of Trustees voted'unanimously'to approve premium increases'for the more than 750,000 members of the State Health Plan (SHP) on Friday.' In February the board met to try and find a solution to…...
State Health Plan eyes premium hike, adds digital care platform
5+ mon, 1+ week ago (710+ words) Healthcare premiums for 770,000 North Carolina State Health Plan (NCSHP) members in 2026 will be decided at the next NCSHP Board of Trustees meeting on Aug. 15. They are likely to increase because they haven't increased in eight years. At the board's meeting…...
Audit: DHHS kept Medicaid providers on the program despite license limitations and suspensions
6+ mon, 6+ day ago (985+ words) Listen to this story (9 minutes) An audit of North Carolina's Medicaid program has revealed numerous issues that the Office of the State Auditor says pose a threat to patient safety. Among them, how the North Carolina Department of Health and…...