Health

The latest North Carolina state budget included massive investments in mental health services, in part thanks to federal Covid relief funds, as well as the $1.4 billion sign-on bonus the state received for expanding medicaid. Legislators worked closely with Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kody Kinsley and visited patients and providers across the state for their input, according to NC Health News.

According to the state Department of Health and Human Services, overdose deaths in the state increased by 22% in 2021, to more than 4,000. For 2022, data from the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner showed a 7% increase in suspected overdose deaths.

The death of a migrant worker from Mexico at a Nash County farm on a near 100-degree day in early September is under investigation by the North Carolina Department of Labor – and it has a connection to a Republican state senator and her family.

NCGOP’s extremist policies on abortion access are driving out hundreds of much-needed medical professionals from the state. Currently, more than 90% of counties are considered “primary care shortage areas”, and over a quarter of counties lack a single OB-GYN, according to The News & Observer.

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Richmond, heard oral arguments earlier this month in two cases involving the coverage of gender-affirming care by state health plans, one in North Carolina and one in West Virginia.

Soon North Carolina will be receiving millions of dollars from the federal government to help address the worsening maternal health crisis the state has seen. The $4 million grant is part of the US Health Resources and Services Administration’s plan to address maternal mortality nationwide, according to the News & Observer.