Press Releases

The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services today submitted to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services an amendment to the 1115 Demonstration Waiver application originally submitted by North Carolina in 2016. Submitting this amended waiver application is an important next step in implementing the Proposed Program Design for Medicaid Managed Care that DHHS published in August.

DHHS today released “Behavioral Health and Intellectual/Developmental Disability Tailored Plan,' the first in a series of Medicaid managed care program concept papers. These concept papers, which DHHS will continue to release over the next several months, provide details on certain components of the managed care program design. DHHS invites stakeholders to provide input by sending an email to Medicaid.Transformation@dhhs.nc.gov. Visit the DHHS Medicaid Transformation website at ncdhhs.gov/nc-medicaid-transformation for more on the North Carolina Medicaid transition to managed care.

The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services today announced the state's first flu-related deaths of the 2017-18 season after two adults died of complications from influenza infection from mid-to-late October. One of the deaths occurred in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, and the other occurred in the eastern region of the state.

The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services today asked health care providers, health plans and other stakeholders to provide information that will help the department transform the state Medicaid and NC Health Choice programs to managed care, as directed by the General Assembly in 2015.

N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen, M.D., got her flu shot Thursday and encouraged others to get vaccinated, too, with the flu season underway.

Rowan County EMS' Daniel Medina and Aaron Thurston claimed top honors following the 27th Annual Paramedic Competition, held at the Koury Convention Center during the annual Emergency Medicine Today Conference.

Statement from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on its audit of Cardinal Innovations Healthcare Solutions: After the Office of the State Auditor found unreasonable spending by Cardinal Innovations Healthcare Solutions, DHHS sent auditors to conduct a detailed examination and determined that in addition to the excessive salary for the CEO, several employees have severance allowances that may stretch to 36 months. This is excessive and raises concerns about the entity's solvency and ability to continue to provide services in the event of a significant change in its leadership team. Cardinal should immediately bring its salary/compensation package for its CEO in line with the other LME/MCOs, and shed its excessive severance offerings. DHHS will continue to monitor Cardinal's performance.

The N.C. Department of Health Human Services' Division of Social Services collaborated with the Office of State Budget and Management, which today released a request for proposal seeking a qualified vendor to conduct assessments of the state's current social services and child welfare programs and develop a comprehensive plan for reform. Proposals are due Nov. 16, and a contract will be in place by March 1, 2018.

The percentage of North Carolina adults who reported smoking cigarettes in 2016 is the lowest ever recorded, 17.9 percent. Despite this milestone, North Carolina's smoking rate remains slightly higher than the national rate of 17.1 percent, and smoking continues to be the leading preventable cause of death in our state.

North Carolina First Lady Kristin Cooper joined State Health Director Betsey Tilson, M.D., on Tuesday at Wake County Human Services to encourage North Carolinians to get vaccinated against the flu.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is sending a mobile, five-bed emergency department, a six-bed in-patient ward and diagnostic equipment to Marathon, Fla. after Hurricane Irma heavily damaged a 25-bed hospital.

Multiple North Carolina counties have reported power outages related to the effects of Hurricane Irma. As people use alternative sources of power, North Carolina health officials are cautioning people about the risk of using gasoline-powered equipment in enclosed spaces.

As part of its ongoing investigation, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality this week urged Chemours to stop discharging two additional chemical compounds into the Cape Fear River. The compounds were identified in the company's waste stream by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency preliminary analysis shared with the state this week.

DHHS has established a Payers' Council to bring together health care payers across the state to partner on benefit design, member services and pharmacy policies to reduce opioid misuse and overdose.

A measuring tool with a radioactive component used to test density in soil compaction during construction was recovered Friday morning after the report it went missing Thursday night.

The device uses radioactive materials to test density in soil compaction during construction. It went missing from a private contractor at the McCuller's Walk Apartments jobsite, 500 Shady Summit Way in Garner, and the disappearance was reported to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services at 7:58 p.m.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is encouraging people who plan to view Monday's solar eclipse to use proper eye protection and take steps to reduce the risk of heat-related illness.

In recognition, DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen, M.D., today visited the Advance Community Health Center in Raleigh and Gov. Roy Cooper signed a proclamation designating the third week of August as National Health Center Week in North Carolina.

According to North Carolina's Acting State Health Director, Kelly Kimple, MD, MPH, breastfeeding has long- and short-term benefits that include lowering the risk of acute conditions such as respiratory and ear infections, more serious chronic diseases like diabetes and asthma or even Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

The new technology will also enable cross-county communication when families move across county lines, with the goal of better protecting the more than 11,000 children and youth in foster care and 125,000 children who receive Child Protective Services assessments each year.