From child welfare to climate: Top NC health stories to watch in 2026 NC Health News reporters share some of the top health care issues facing North Carolinians in the new year: www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2026/01/02/h... #NC #NorthCarolina #Health #HealthNews #NCHealthNews

Our reporters share some of the top health care issues facing North Carolinians in the new year. #NC #NorthCarolina #Health #HealthCare buff.ly/wWDRG0T

Rate hikes paired with the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits will increase out-of-pocket costs for North Carolina residents purchasing health care coverage under the ACA in 2026. #AffordableCareAct #Insurance #NC #HealthCoverage www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2026/01/01/h...

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Coverage of mental health issues continues to draw readers to NC Health News. Other top stories you clicked on in 2025: capacity restoration jail programs, federal food aid cuts, State Health Plan changes, and Medicaid in the crosshairs. buff.ly/GtcJ0QX

Now more than ever, your support is vital. Invest in health news that makes a difference. Donate now ➡️ buff.ly/auR7nAj

You clicked on stories about hog poop, hospital executive salaries and changes in the state’s health care policies that had both positive and negative outcomes. The top five stories. #NC #NCHealthNews #HealthNews buff.ly/seMkoSt

It’s OK this time of year to tell someone to take a hike. #CabinFever #TakeaHike buff.ly/BvVrZjD

Judges reject arguments against NC Certificate of Need law Challenge to constitutionality of certificate of need law, regulating medical facilities expansion, could be headed back to NC Supreme Court. Full story: buff.ly/sVQFf50 #CertificateofNeed #MedicalLaw #NC #SupremeCourt

Challenge to constitutionality of certificate of need law, regulating medical facilities expansion, could be headed back to NC Supreme Court. #CertificateofNeed #MedicalLaw #NC #SupremeCourt buff.ly/sVQFf50

Four years after promises, a plan for apartments at Atrium's The Pearl in Charlotte are filed. Critics say it’s not enough. Full story: buff.ly/1TqYjeI #Charlotte #Housing #Atrium #ThePearl #AffordableHousing

Plans were filed to build a 20-story luxury apartment complex in Charlotte. The project would fulfill one of the affordable housing promises made when Atrium secured $75 million in public funding. Critics say it’s not enough. #Charlotte #Atrium buff.ly/1TqYjeI

A message about all those fundraising emails we’re sending you… donate to NC Health News! #northcarolina #healthnews #ncga #ncpol

Sheriffs say stricter pretrial release rules could test capacity, staffing and county budgets. #IrynasLaw #PretrialRelease #LawEnforcement #JudicialSystem #NC #NCGA #NCPOL buff.ly/ZDCuqFH

Lawmakers are currently debating whether to extend health insurance subsidies in the middle of open enrollment. #Obamacare #HealthInsurance #Marketplace #Premiums buff.ly/TEOLdrk

Robert Bullard, a professor at Texas Southern University who’s widely regarded as the father of the environmental justice movement, discusses the EPA's proposal to reduce PFAS reporting regulations for industry. Full story at www.nchealthnews.org #EPA #PFAS #RobertBullard #EnvironmentalJustice

After years of planning, the state has launched a specialized plan to reduce strain on families and county agencies working in child welfare. Full story: www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2025/12/19/f... #NC #Health #NCGA #NCPOL #Medicaid #Children #FosterChildren

After years of planning, the state has launched a specialized plan to reduce strain on families and county agencies working in child welfare. #NC #Health #NCGA #NCPOL #Medicaid #Children #FosterChildren buff.ly/WxKq4j8

NC reentry program turns to tiny homes to help women leaving prison >> Benevolence Farm’s expansion comes as more than one in four people in North Carolina leave state prisons homeless — a gap the state aims to close through new reentry housing efforts. Full story at www.nchealthnews.org #housing

The case raises questions about employee background checks, repeat safety violations and the state’s reliance on residential psychiatric treatment facilities for vulnerable children. Full story: www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2025/12/18/l... #JacksonSprings #MooreCounty #NC #Psychiatric #Youth

The case raises questions about employee background checks, repeat safety violations and the state’s reliance on residential psychiatric treatment facilities for vulnerable children. #JacksonSprings #MooreCounty #NC #Psychiatric #YouthPsychiatry buff.ly/zjIDT1P

Benevolence Farm’s expansion comes as more than one in four people in North Carolina leave state prisons homeless — a gap the state aims to close through new reentry housing efforts. Full story at www.nchealthnews.org #BenevolenceFarms #TinyHomes #Community #Reentry #ReentryHousing

When it started the year, the plan was deep in a fiscal hole, now this year’s hole has been filled. But plan leaders anticipate another year of challenges. #ncpol #ncga #nc #northcarolina #statehealthplan #nchealth www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2025/12/17/s...

NCSU student Samantha Foresman participated in the Marsh Creek Watershed Litter Project, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration–funded project examining how trash moves through urban waterways such as Raleigh’s Marsh Creek. Full story at www.nchealthnews.org

Benevolence Farm’s expansion comes as more than one in four people in North Carolina leave state prisons homeless — a gap the state aims to close through new reentry housing efforts. #BenevolenceFarms #TinyHomes #Community #Reentry #ReentryHousing buff.ly/46uoj3f

As state Treasurer Brad Briner looks to address what could be a billion-dollar deficit, he says part of the puzzle will be higher premiums for state employees. #NC #NorthCarolina #ncga #ncpol www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2025/12/15/s...

Lawmakers express concern about left-leaning legal aid efforts, but groups say they’ve been misunderstood and other red states don’t do this. #Legalaid #ncpol #ncga buff.ly/5hQmeBN

Former teacher Meagan Beam 3D prints plastic tiles. The completed pieces — which feature letters, letter combinations and pictures — can be easily combined and broken apart to create words and help students master reading. Read the full story at www.nchealthnews.org

Plastic waste is costing society billions, Duke study finds New research tallies the hidden health, environmental and economic impacts of litter — and why upstream fixes matter. Full story: www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2025/12/12/p... #Litter #Pollution #Waste #Plastics

New research tallies the hidden health, environmental and economic impacts of litter — and why upstream fixes matter. #Litter #Pollution #Waste #Plastics buff.ly/x4Ht4Kw

Governor’s move averts deeper disruption, but the system remains at risk without action from lawmakers. #NC #JoshStein #NCGovernor #NCGA #NCPOL #Medicaid #MedicaidCuts buff.ly/CUlwTyD

NC has an opioid crisis and local rescue mission volunteers say the money they need to combat just won't come. Read the full story — "The rescue mission at the heart of NC’s opioid crisis — and the money it can’t reach" — at www.nchealthnews.org #opioid #opiodcrises #addiction #NC

What began as a homemade classroom tool offers a concrete, interactive method for helping young students improve their reading abilities, according to OTTER Reading creator Meagan Beam. Full story: www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2025/12/10/o... #teachers #classroom #students #kids #reading

What began as a homemade classroom tool offers a concrete, interactive method for helping young students improve their reading abilities, according to OTTER Reading creator Meagan Beam. #Classroom #Students #Kids #Reading #Teachers #Invention buff.ly/E5m3yr0

The company had sought to shield information about so-called forever chemicals that are part of a lawsuit brought against the company. #Chemours #CapeFear #CapeFearRiver #PFAS #Pollution buff.ly/pVQqhBB

Novant Health is among a growing number of health care systems now charging patients for self-administered surveys that screen for problems. Patients say they should not be billed for checking a few boxes. #Novant #NovanHealth #Medical #Fees #MedicalFees buff.ly/PaP0HvH

Inspection reports show problem findings at several NC turkey processing plants, but system largely lets plants continue business as usual. #NC #Health #Turkey #Inspections buff.ly/98ekJkA

EPA says the change will cut red tape, but new research suggests regulators may already be missing major sources of contamination. #EPA #PFAS #NC #Pollution #Contamination buff.ly/W82St6P

People leaving North Carolina prisons are far more likely to die of an overdose in their first weeks back home. Prison officials are trying to reduce that risk by providing medications for opioid use disorder before release. #NC #Prisons #Overdose #Opioid #Addiction #Treatment buff.ly/cGG2OIJ

The protesters were pressing the hospital authority board to honor affordable housing promises as the system reported soaring 2025 revenues. Meanwhile, union workers from affiliated facilities in the Midwest decried working conditions. #Atrium #Charlotte #Housing #HospitalAuthority buff.ly/l85fSni

NC physicians open up about how burnout takes a toll on their mental health and their ability to care for patients. #Doctors #Doctor #MD #Medical #Physicians #MentalHealth #Burnout buff.ly/7zQrna7

Despite serving one of the communities hit hardest by fentanyl deaths, the Richmond County Rescue Mission has been denied settlement funds for two years. No one can explain why. #Opioid #OpioidCrises #Fentanyl #RichmondCounty #NC buff.ly/D0uoghf

Woods’ compensation eclipses what other major North Carolina health-system CEOs earn. #Atrium #AtriumHealth #CEO #Salary buff.ly/aYwYwy4

Maggie Kane founded Raleigh’s A Place at the Table café to erase the invisible lines she saw in traditional soup kitchens and food pantries. Full story at www.nchealthnews.org #Raleigh #APlaceattheTable #SoupKitchen #FoodPantry #Cafe #Food #Community

Maggie Kane founded Raleigh’s A Place at the Table café to erase the invisible lines she saw in traditional soup kitchens and food pantries. Full story ➡️ buff.ly/lcsv0dY #Raleigh #APlaceattheTable #SoupKitchen #FoodPantry #Cafe #Food #Community

Maggie Kane founded Raleigh’s A Place at the Table café to erase the invisible lines she saw in traditional soup kitchens and food pantries. #Raleigh #APlaceattheTable #SoupKitchen #FoodPantry #Cafe #Food #Community buff.ly/lcsv0dY

Food insecurity rises, Medicaid cuts hit and essential services shrink as the legislature’s budget deadlock deepens strain on safety nets. #NC #Budget #NCPOL #NCGA #Deadlock #Stalemate buff.ly/Nbs7SeZ

Residents and advocates pressed county commissioners to use their limited oversight power to hold the health care giant accountable for affordable-housing promises tied to development of the Pearl. #Atrium #Mecklenburg www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2025/11/25/a...

New research shows how hurricanes can wash sewage, industrial chemicals and “everything in people’s garages” into North Carolina waterways, and how to prevent that in future storms. #HurricaneHelene #Helene #WNC #FrenchBroadRiver #PFAS #Contaminants #Toxins buff.ly/D1LzePd