Press Releases

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today released a policy paper with information for health care providers regarding the transition to Medicaid managed care, expected to launch in 2019.

Across North Carolina, 5,717 individuals--nearly four times the first-year goal--have benefited since May 2017 from a federal grant aimed at helping battle an opioid crisis that is killing nearly four people a day in this state, Governor Roy Cooper reported today.

Governor Roy Cooper's request for temporary food and nutrition benefits for Guilford and Rockingham county residents affected by the April 15 tornado has been approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That clears the way for tornado survivors in those counties to apply for temporary Disaster Food and Nutrition Services benefits.

QuitlineNC, North Carolina's telephone service that helps people quit smoking and other tobacco use, is offering eight weeks of nicotine patches combined with either nicotine gum or lozenges for free until the end of the month or while supplies lasts.

Each year, tens of thousands of children and their families in North Carolina face the challenges of living with mental health issues and seeking treatment and care. Governor Roy Cooper has declared today as Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day, an observance related to Mental Health Month, also observed during May.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has been approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to begin a pilot project in Cumberland, Durham, Johnston and Wake counties to offer rehabilitation services for adults who have suffered traumatic brain injury on or after their 22nd birthday.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ State Center for Health Statistics has created an interactive map with a series of overlays showing social determinants of health indicators in North Carolina, including the economic, social and neighborhood, and housing and transportation status of residents across the state.

The important contributions of North Carolina’s strong public health system are highlighted this month by a proclamation from Governor Roy Cooper designating April as Public Health Month. Public health departments provide flu vaccines, screen for health issues, take precautions to keep disease from spreading and promote tobacco cessation efforts. 

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services employees and partners are recognizing the Month of the Young Child with events across the state to support the 250,000 young children enrolled in child care centers and family child care homes across the state.

Today the Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities in the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services released its Health Equity Report for 2018, which shows progress and areas for continued improvement for a healthier North Carolina.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today released a request for applications for community projects to combat the opioid crisis by advancing the goals of the NC Opioid Action Plan.

Emergency department visits for opioid overdose in North Carolina have risen sharply, with preliminary data for 2017 indicating more than 5,700 visits, a nearly 40 percent increase in opioid overdose ED visits compared to 2016. The 2017 increase represents a doubling of the number recorded in 2009.

Effective Monday, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will temporarily assume leadership of child welfare services at the Cherokee County Department of Social Services, as authorized under state law.

North Carolina health officials are alerting the public to a recent increase in emergency department visits by people who reported using cannabidiol (CBD) oil or a similar product in electronic cigarettes and/or vaporizing pens.

Kroger Pharmacies and Harris Teeter Pharmacies across North Carolina have joined the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services in the fight against prescription drug misuse by integrating pharmacy data sharing information into their workflow.

The Office of State Budget and Management, in consultation with the North Carolina Department of Health Human Services' Division of Social Services, has awarded a $2.5 million contract to SLI Global Solutions LLC subsidiary, the Center for the Support of Families, to provide technical assistance that will strengthen the state's social services and child welfare programs.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today released a request for proposal for independent enrollment broker services that will help beneficiaries enroll in the North Carolina Medicaid and NC Health Choice managed care programs.

More than $9 million remains available to help eligible households pay their heating bills through the state-administered Low-Income Energy Assistance Program. The federally funded program helps keep families safe and healthy by providing a one-time payment directly to the utility company.

With flu activity in North Carolina remaining widespread, state health officials are continuing to encourage North Carolinians to get vaccinated. Interim estimates of vaccine effectiveness released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show the vaccine is approximately 36 percent effective this season and 59 percent effective for children 6 months to 8 years old.

Foster youth of legal driving age and their caregivers can now be reimbursed for costs related to obtaining a driver's license through a new pilot program.