House Speaker Tim Moore shot down an attempt from Rep. Larry Pittman, R-Cabarrus, to amend a bill that Pittman and a few other Republicans fear could pave the way for legalizing marijuana.

House Speaker Tim Moore has said he has concerns with the SAVE Act, the bill that would expand what advanced practice nurses can do without a doctor’s supervision. But a similar bill that addresses the role of physician assistants is moving forward in the House.

State Treasurer Dale Folwell pushed legislators on Tuesday to take up his latest proposal to address medical debt collections and price transparency in our state’s complex health care system.

Just about every business interest group can find something to like and dislike about the Medicaid expansion and “health care access” bill that passed the Senate last week.

Legislators are working on the next phase of the Medicaid Transformation shift to managed care. A new version of House Bill 144 unveiled Thursday would solicit bids from health care companies for a new “statewide children and families specialty plan” aimed at kids in foster care.

Only 10 senators voted against legalizing medical marijuana on Thursday, but the group represented a fascinating range of political ideologies. As one might expect, the “no” votes included some of the Senate’s most socially conservative members, such as Sens. Carl Ford, R-Rowan, Norm Sanderson, R-Pamlico, and Bob Steinburg, R-Chowan.

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Health and Human Services Secretary Kody Kinsley got a warm reception Wednesday during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Health Care Committee.

Once a taboo subject, the permanent legalization of hemp production, distribution and sales in North Carolina passed the Senate on Tuesday without a single “no” vote.

The Senate’s Medicaid Expansion and More Omnibus (my term, not theirs) cleared its first committee hurdle Thursday with quick passage in the Senate Health Care Committee.

The N.C. Dental Society wants dentists exempted from required participation in the state’s N.C. HealthConnex data-sharing initiative for health care providers. The exemption is part of a fast-moving bill rolled out Wednesday morning in a House committee.

As expected, the Senate’s proposal for Medicaid expansion includes four other health care policy changes long favored by key Republicans: Drastically reducing Certificate of Need health care regulations, requiring insurance coverage for some telehealth services, expanding the practice authority of advanced practice nurses, and a “surprise billing” transparency proposal.

State Treasurer Dale Folwell has teamed up with a bipartisan group of House legislators on a new consumer protection bill addressing medical debts and bill collections.