Verity Healthcare

On Tuesday, February 18, 2025, FHLI packages, the North Carolina Rural Well being Affiliation (NCRHA), the North Carolina Oral Well being Collaborative (NCOHC), and the Heart of Excellence for Integrative Care (COE) co-hosted our annual Legislative Breakfast.

Well being advocates and policymakers from throughout the state met on the North Carolina Museum of Pure Sciences Nature Analysis Heart. They received out early to share a scorching meal and talk about methods to enhance the well being and well-being of all North Carolinians.

A standing-room-only crowd of over 120 elected officers, well being professionals, and advocates got here out to listen to state legislators and well being consultants share their views on urgent challenges and alternatives to work collectively for a more healthy future.

We’re excited to proceed advocating for insurance policies that meaningfully enhance the lives of everybody in our state. NCRHA, NCOHC, and COE set particular coverage agendas yearly. Under, you possibly can study extra about our audio system and 2025-2026 legislative priorities.

Rural NC: Complete-Particular person, Complete-Group, & Complete-State Well being

FHLI Board Member Dr. Cherry Beasley launched Consultant Timothy Reeder from the North Carolina Normal Meeting. He spoke in regards to the North Carolina Home management’s priorities for 2025 and expressed his assist for FHLI’s slate of coverage priorities.

He additionally expressed curiosity find coverage options to handle prior authorization, which, in its present type, typically creates pointless limitations and inefficiencies in well being care. To handle this, he intends to seek out coverage choices that get monetary savings whereas decreasing the burden on sufferers searching for care.

FHLI Chief of Employees Dr. Brandy Harrell launched Josh Dobson from the North Carolina Well being Care Affiliation. He mentioned the present federal panorama and the danger of Medicaid cuts, particularly highlighting a set off legislation in North Carolina that may routinely finish Medicaid enlargement if federal funding is minimize under the present “90-10” cut up.

Since passing in North Carolina in 2023, Medicaid enlargement has opened the door for insurance coverage protection to greater than 628,000 individuals, a disproportionate proportion of whom stay in rural communities.

This 12 months, NCRHA is specializing in increasing and enhancing rural broadband and constructing a extra sturdy rural well being workforce on the federal and state ranges:

1. Dependable, high-speed broadband is critical for accessing telehealth providers, studying, connecting socially, rising companies, and extra. Investing in broadband infrastructure serving our rural communities will guarantee everybody has the chance to thrive, no matter who they’re or the place they stay.
2. At this time, 95 of North Carolina’s 100 counties are nonetheless geographic or inhabitants Well being Skilled Scarcity Areas (HPSAs) for main care. To make sure each North Carolinian can entry care, we should strengthen our rural well being system by coaching packages, mortgage reimbursement incentives, and workforce improvement.

On the state stage, NCRHA can be advocating for: 

• Investing in pure catastrophe resilience. 
• Constructing a stronger security web. 
• Supporting maternal and little one well being. 
• Addressing youth psychological well being. 

For extra info on NCRHA’s priorities, see their 2025 coverage agenda, and for extra context on the state of well being in rural North Carolina, take a look at the 2025 North Carolina Rural Well being Snapshot.

Oral Well being: Important for General Properly-Being & a Human Proper 

NCOHC Vice President Dr. Steve Cline launched Consultant Maria Cervania from the North Carolina Normal Meeting. Drawing on her experience as an epidemiologist and biostatistician, she talked about how oral well being is each general well being and a human proper.

A number of audio system additionally referenced Home Invoice 60, which might modernize North Carolina Medicaid dental reimbursement charges. This laws is a high precedence for the NCOHC crew, and the bipartisan invoice has been co-sponsored by Representatives Cervania and Reeder, alongside 57 further main and co-sponsors.

North Carolina Medicaid dental reimbursement charges haven’t been meaningfully elevated since 2008, which means that many public well being suppliers are pressured to function at a financial loss when accepting sufferers with Medicaid insurance coverage. Home Invoice 60 would increase charges by greater than 10% in comparison with common personal observe costs.

To make sure everybody throughout our state has the chance to stay a wholesome life and entry all sorts of care, together with oral well being, NCOHC is advocating for:

• Rising North Carolina Medicaid dental reimbursement charges.
• Revising statutory legislation to permit for alignment of dental guidelines 16W and 16Z.
• Permitting for reimbursement of extra school-based dental examinations.
• Accumulating extra information to tell workforce improvement wants.

Contemplating the enlargement of Medicaid final 12 months, modernizing dental reimbursement charges is as urgent as ever. By taking this important step, we are able to improve the variety of suppliers and guarantee everybody has entry to care.

To study extra about NCOHC’s priorities, obtain their 2024 Portrait of Oral Well being and take a look at the ultimate pages for this system’s full 2025 coverage agenda.

Behavioral Well being: Preventative Psychological Well being Take care of Youngsters  

To spherical out the occasion, COE Interim Director Dr. Lisa Tyndall introduced the launch of a psychological well being well-check pilot with the North Carolina Division of Well being and Human Providers (NCDHHS). She additionally launched Dr. Alexandra Cupito and Dr. Lauren Hanley, who spoke about their experiences as suppliers making an attempt to supply and get reimbursed for delivering preventive psychological well being care.

This 12 months, COE is selling a brand new coverage permitting youngsters as much as 17 years outdated to obtain a free psychological well being screener with their caregiver’s consent throughout their annual well-visit. If authorised, this coverage would be sure that main care suppliers have devoted time for psychological well being prevention, together with figuring out potential considerations, sharing sources, and delivering care to avert psychological well being crises earlier than they come up.

Accessible, routine preventive care would additionally assist destigmatize psychological well being conversations and scale back the threat of youngsters creating long-term, untreated psychological well being issues that adversely influence their well being, overburden suppliers, and improve prices.

Youngsters and youths in North Carolina are experiencing a psychological well being disaster with anxiousness, melancholy, and different challenges on the rise, however this pattern doesn’t need to proceed. By guaranteeing youngsters, youth, and households get broader entry to whole-person care, we are able to construct the inspiration for a more healthy North Carolina.

Take a look at COE’s Psychological Well being Properly Verify [PDF] primer to study extra.

Join, Collaborate, Advocate for a More healthy NC   

Many alternatives exist to have interaction with FHLI and advocate for well being. If you wish to be a part of the options to make our programs work higher for extra individuals, join our e-newsletter and be a part of us at a future occasion. If you wish to study extra in regards to the state of well being in North Carolina, remember to learn the 2025 Rural Well being Snapshot. We’re glad you’re right here!