News
State Health Plan raises Medicare rates, shifts provider tiers to cut costs
2+ hour, 30+ min ago (1114+ words) At their board meeting on Friday, the North Carolina State Health Plan Board of Trustees voted unanimously to raise rates on its Medicare Advantage plans for older workers and retirees and discussed a new tier system for providers in the…...
NC Medicaid is improving under managed care system
1+ week, 2+ day ago (328+ words) Beyond active investigations, managed care plan technology and processes ensure only eligible members receive services, making sure the state is only paying for those who qualify and isn't overpaying for unnecessary, fraudulent, or wasteful services. This rigorous process is a…...
Mergers only make hospital monopolies worse
2+ week, 6+ hour ago (232+ words) With decades of economic evidence demonstrating that hospital consolidation raises prices and does not systematically improve quality, this transaction is about market power, as Atrium looks to construct a stronger statewide network. Wake Med has worked hard to execute organic…...
NCInnovation weighs private future amid endowment clawback threat
3+ week, 5+ hour ago (1431+ words) Listen to this story (15 minutes) NCInnovation's board of directors is weighing how the nonprofit could survive and operate more like a private entity, potentially with some state money, if state lawmakers claw back most or all of its $500 million taxpayer-funded…...
NC bill would create tax deduction for prescription drug costs
3+ week, 2+ day ago (506+ words) North Carolinians with high prescription drug costs could receive a new state income tax deduction under a bill filed in the House. House Bill 1074, Prescription Drug Expenses Tax Deduction, would allow taxpayers to deduct up to $5, 000 in unreimbursed out-of-pocket expenses…...
NC reaches $11 M deal with Epi Pen maker over price increases
1+ mon, 4+ day ago (651+ words) At a press conference at the North Carolina Department of Justice on Thursday, North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson announced that the state has reached an $11 million settlement with Mylan, the maker and distributor of the Epi Pen, for a…...
NC Health Plan delays choice for new administrator after bids fall short
1+ mon, 2+ week ago (478+ words) On Wednesday, the North Carolina State Health Plan (SHP) announced that it has canceled the current Request for Proposal (RFP) for Third Party Administrator (TPA) services, as none of the bids received met the RFP's minimum requirements. The Plan issued…...
Legislators question NCDHHS, hospitals on rural health
1+ mon, 3+ week ago (816+ words) Hospital leaders warn that North Carolina's rural health care system is on increasingly unstable footing, as state officials push forward a $213 million plan to stabilize and transform care in rural communities. At an April 7 meeting of the Joint Legislative Oversight…...
State Health Plan board votes on benefit restructuring strategies
2+ mon, 2+ week ago (790+ words) The'final dollar amounts (copays) associated with the tiers will be voted on at the June 5'meeting." The plan's projected deficit was $507 million in 2026 and $1. 3 billion in 2027, but changes implemented by the SHP board and the General Assembly reversed this trend…...
State Health Plan expands no-cost surgeries through Novant deal
3+ mon, 2+ hour ago (520+ words) Hundreds of thousands of North Carolina State Health Plan (NCSHP) members across the state will soon have access to no-cost, high-quality surgical care. Through the SHP's Lantern surgical benefit, members can receive surgical services at numerous'Novant Health locations across the…...