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Here's who's running for North Carolina governor in 2024

The election will take place November 5, 2024.

News

Remote work is shaping the Triangle

Remote work has a huge influence on the Triangle's economy

Nugget blew up during the pandemic. Now what?

Nugget's couches became one of the hottest items to own during the pandemic.

Budget proposal could include new limits on suing North Carolina employees

Under a little-known provision quietly slipped into early state budget proposals, North Carolinians who sue state employees could soon lose the ability to present their case to a jury of their peers in state court.

NC to increase behavioral health reimbursement rates

Medicaid reimbursement rates for mental health, substance use, disability and traumatic brain injury treatments will increase for the first time in a decade.

Medicaid reimbursement rates for mental health, substance use, disability and traumatic brain injury treatments will increase for the first time in a decade, North Carolina&#x27;s Department of Health and Human Services <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="announced" data-vars-click-url="https://www.ncdhhs.gov/news/press-releases/2023/11/15/behavioral-health-reimbursement-rates-increased-first-time-decade" data-vars-content-id="0b57435c-3d30-4c60-b8d0-0caaaab5145a" data-vars-headline="NC to increase behavioral health reimbursement rates" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.ncdhhs.gov/news/press-releases/2023/11/15/behavioral-health-reimbursement-rates-increased-first-time-decade" target="_blank">announced</a> Tuesday.Why it matters: The change, effective Jan. 1, will bring more health care workers into the fold and increase access to behavioral health care, state health officials predict.

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UNC Health and North Carolina partner on new youth mental health crisis facility

Emergency rooms across North Carolina have been seeing a surge in youth mental health crises

UNC Health is opening a new behavioral health facility for children today as part of an effort to address a crisis in youth mental health in the state.Why it matters: Since the onset of the pandemic, there has been <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="a surge in teenagers seeking emergency psychiatric care" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/08/16/youth-mental-health-crisis-emergency" data-vars-content-id="354f874e-3fd7-4202-88de-e3bdfdee94d3" data-vars-headline="UNC Health and North Carolina partner on new youth mental health crisis facility" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/08/16/youth-mental-health-crisis-emergency" target="_self">a surge in teenagers seeking emergency psychiatric care</a>, and North Carolina&#x27;s existing infrastructure is unable to meet that demand.<ul><li>It&#x27;s caused many children to be admitted to emergency rooms because there aren&#x27;t enough beds in existing hospitals for them, Dr. Samantha Meltzer-Brody, the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="chair of UNC&#x27;s Department of Psychiatry" data-vars-click-url="https://www.med.unc.edu/psych/csi/directory/samantha-meltzer-brody/" data-vars-content-id="354f874e-3fd7-4202-88de-e3bdfdee94d3" data-vars-headline="UNC Health and North Carolina partner on new youth mental health crisis facility" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.med.unc.edu/psych/csi/directory/samantha-meltzer-brody/" target="_blank">chair of UNC&#x27;s Department of Psychiatry</a>, told Axios.</li></ul>

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UNC Health dispute with UnitedHealthcare could leave thousands out-of-network

UNC Health is in a contract dispute with one of the largest health insurance companies in the U.S>

UNC Health is notifying nearly 200,000 of its patients that their coverage could be affected by a dispute with UnitedHealthcare, one of the largest health insurance companies in the U.S.Driving the news: UNC Health is in the middle of a contract negotiation with UnitedHealthcare, and the hospital network said in a letter it is sending to patients that the two parties are far apart over reimbursement policies and rate increases.

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North Carolina's falling fertility rate could shape the state's future

North Carolina's birthrate hit a low during the heigh of the COVID-19 pandemic

While North Carolina&#x27;s population has <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="surged" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2023/01/04/north-carolina-population-growth-2022" data-vars-content-id="d5b2c3f7-c2c1-43ef-a112-38f0606d842b" data-vars-headline="North Carolina&#x27;s falling fertility rate could shape the state&#x27;s future" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2023/01/04/north-carolina-population-growth-2022" target="_self">surged</a>, the state&#x27;s fertility rates have moved in the opposite direction.Why it matters: A falling fertility rate will have a strong influence on the shape of North Carolina&#x27;s demographics and economy in the coming decades.<ul><li>The state&#x27;s total fertility rate is now below replacement level — meaning that without new people moving here, the state&#x27;s population would decline over the long term, Nathan T. Dollar, director of Carolina Demography at UNC-Chapel Hill, told Axios.</li></ul>

ER wait times are on the rise in North Carolina

ER volumes are once again up this fall thanks to respiratory illnesses

Emergency room visits in North Carolina last an average of two hours and 54 minutes.<ul><li>That&#x27;s based on a 12-month average ending in the third quarter of 2022, according to the latest Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="data" data-vars-click-url="https://link.axios.com/click/32741824.47/aHR0cHM6Ly9kYXRhLmNtcy5nb3YvcHJvdmlkZXItZGF0YS9kYXRhc2V0L2FweWMtdjIzOT91dG1fc291cmNlPW5ld3NsZXR0ZXImdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249c2VuZHRvX2xvY2FsbmV3c2xldHRlcnRlc3Qmc3RyZWFtPXRvcA/624a478d8de5d288030b4174B5476f1b8" data-vars-content-id="37718040-9f9a-4f38-b498-49035d9b0c01" data-vars-headline="ER wait times are on the rise in North Carolina" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://link.axios.com/click/32741824.47/aHR0cHM6Ly9kYXRhLmNtcy5nb3YvcHJvdmlkZXItZGF0YS9kYXRhc2V0L2FweWMtdjIzOT91dG1fc291cmNlPW5ld3NsZXR0ZXImdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249c2VuZHRvX2xvY2FsbmV3c2xldHRlcnRlc3Qmc3RyZWFtPXRvcA/624a478d8de5d288030b4174B5476f1b8" target="_blank">data</a>.</li></ul>Why it matters: Time spent in the ER is a key metric for tracking hospital performance.

N.C.'s new budget paves the way for a $2 billion children's hospital

The new children's hospital is expected to open within the decade

The Triangle will get a new children&#x27;s hospital in the next decade, thanks to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="$320 million" data-vars-click-url="https://news.unchealthcare.org/2023/09/unc-health-announces-plans-for-new-n-c-childrens-hospital/" data-vars-content-id="7fc69132-6769-4b10-9a46-3daf9b41bf3a" data-vars-headline="N.C.&#x27;s new budget paves the way for a $2 billion children&#x27;s hospital" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://news.unchealthcare.org/2023/09/unc-health-announces-plans-for-new-n-c-childrens-hospital/" target="_blank">$320 million</a> of dedicated funding in the new state budget for UNC Health to build one.Driving the news: UNC Health said the standalone hospital would cost roughly $2 billion to build, provide medical and behavioral health care for children and adolescents and create thousands of jobs.

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North Carolina will expand Medicaid eligibility in December

For more than a year, the state's political leaders have debated when Medicaid expansion would occur in North Carolina

Medicaid expansion in North Carolina will go live on Dec. 1, Gov. Roy Cooper and N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kody Kinsley announced Monday.Why it matters: When it does, expansion will make more than 600,000 of the state&#x27;s poorest residents newly eligible for government health care coverage.

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Contamination found at Novo Nordisk's Johnston County plant, report says

Novo Nordisk is the drugmaker behind the popular weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy

<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Novo Nordisk" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/08/10/ozempic-maker-bolsters-weight-loss-inversag-novo-nordisk" data-vars-content-id="ff798f54-b7ec-494b-91f3-79f5f86f1d24" data-vars-headline="Contamination found at Novo Nordisk&#x27;s Johnston County plant, report says" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/08/10/ozempic-maker-bolsters-weight-loss-inversag-novo-nordisk" target="_self">Novo Nordisk</a> — the drugmaker behind the popular weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy — has been having trouble with its factory in Clayton, one of the largest employers in Johnston County.Driving the news: Federal inspectors discovered bacteria in batches of Novo Nordisk&#x27;s main ingredients for a diabetes drug, Rybelsus, that is made at the Clayton plant, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="the Wall Street Journal reports" data-vars-click-url="https://www.wsj.com/health/pharma/contamination-is-found-at-novo-nordisk-plant-in-u-s-92bca9bf" data-vars-content-id="ff798f54-b7ec-494b-91f3-79f5f86f1d24" data-vars-headline="Contamination found at Novo Nordisk&#x27;s Johnston County plant, report says" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.wsj.com/health/pharma/contamination-is-found-at-novo-nordisk-plant-in-u-s-92bca9bf" target="_blank">the Wall Street Journal reports</a>.

NC Republicans to tie Medicaid expansion to casinos

Lawmakers are expected to roll out a new plan this week to usher the budget into law.

North Carolina&#x27;s long-awaited <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="budget" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2023/09/11/nc-budget-vote-governor-roy-cooper-veto" data-vars-content-id="2dacffd9-32e8-403a-ab71-aaff2106bd98" data-vars-headline="NC Republicans to tie Medicaid expansion to casinos" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2023/09/11/nc-budget-vote-governor-roy-cooper-veto" target="_self">budget</a> may pass the legislature this week.Driving the news: North Carolina Republicans are expected to roll out a new plan that would separate <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Medicaid expansion" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2023/08/14/medicaid-expansion-nc-fate-uncertain" data-vars-content-id="2dacffd9-32e8-403a-ab71-aaff2106bd98" data-vars-headline="NC Republicans to tie Medicaid expansion to casinos" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2023/08/14/medicaid-expansion-nc-fate-uncertain" target="_self">Medicaid expansion</a> enactment and the controversial casinos proposal from the budget and running the pair of proposals together, in a bill of their own.

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NC is still a Southern abortion destination

North Carolina remained the South's destination for abortions in the first six months of this year, as state lawmakers debated how far to go in restricting the procedure.

North Carolina remained the South&#x27;s destination for abortions in the first six months of this year, as state lawmakers debated how far to go in restricting the procedure.Why it matters: Patients are proving highly motivated to travel to get the care in the face of state bans, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Axios&#x27; Adriel Bettelheim writes" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/09/07/abortions-surged-state-bans" data-vars-content-id="e83ebeca-2dc7-4172-9aee-4ea171acb55f" data-vars-headline="NC is still a Southern abortion destination" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/09/07/abortions-surged-state-bans" target="_self">Axios&#x27; Adriel Bettelheim writes</a>.

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