Hospital facility fees attacked — and defended
Stalled legislation that would restrict the use of “facility fees”
Health Care
Hospital facility fees attacked — and defended
Stalled legislation that would restrict the use of “facility fees” by hospital systems could reduce healthcare costs for North Carolina families by at least $200 million
Legislators briefed on Medicaid’s rising autism-care costs
Legislators balk when they see the financial cost of Medicaid-funded autism-care services, but the human costs of not paying bother them every bit as much. The House and Senate’s Medicaid...
Treasurer’s office prepping new RFP State Health Plan claims processing
Aetna’s only been administering claims for the State Health Plan for a little over a year, but officials in Treasurer Brad Briner’s office are already looking aheadto perhaps replacing it....
Budget & Taxes
Legislative quandary: Paying for the ferry system
Among the many questions that’s hanging fire amid the House-Senate budget deadlock is the future of North Carolina’s coastal ferry system. The chambers roughly settled
State pension returns in double digits
North Carolina’s state pension system had a 13% annual return in 2025, the N.C. Investment Authority reported this week. When excluding fees, that performance ranked in the 54th percentile of...
Berger proposes freezing tax values for a year
Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, says he’s going to file a bill in April that would “halt all property tax revaluation changes for 12 months” while legislators study broader changes...
Education
A three-way stab at examining education
Gov. Josh Stein, Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Destin Hall have announced the formation of a Blue Ribbon Commission on Public Education The
Dorm plans at UNC flagships to cost about $1B
Plans for close to $1 billion in new dormitory construction at UNC Chapel Hill and NC State merit more scrutiny from UNC System officials, a Board of Governors member says....
Project Kitty Hawk grads to date: 96
To date, 96 people have graduated from the online degree programs some of the UNC System’s campuses are offering through Project Kitty Hawk. That includes 73 from N.C. Central University...
Elections
Meyer resigns; Orange, Caswell and Person Dems to pick replacement
Orange, Person and Caswell counties need a new state senator. On Monday, District 23 Sen. Graig Meyer, D-Orange, announced that he’s resigning as of March
Rucho resigns from state elections board
Former state Sen. Bob Rucho resigned from the State Board of Elections on Thursday after officials found he’d made campaign contributions to the incumbent sheriffs in Iredell and Catawba counties....
GOP criticizes Cooper’s handling of lacrosse case
Republicans’ search for a Willie Horton to use against former Gov. Roy Cooper on the campaign trail in this fall’s U.S. Senate race are now looking to the Duke lacrosse...