Rose Hoban, North Carolina Health News

When federal health officials announced late last month what top officials called a "dramatic restructuring" of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the department’s secretary, claimed: "Over time, bureaucracies like HHS become wasteful and inefficient even when most of their staff are dedicated and competent civil servants. This overhaul will be a win-win for taxpayers and for those that HHS serves."

Cone Health hasn’t focused as aggressively on growth, but that could change now that a nonprofit spinoff of Kaiser Permanente is taking over.

“It is a problem that many policymakers have expressed concern over, and yet kids are still suffering,” said Corye Dunn, director of public policy for Disability Rights North Carolina.

The payments came after Eastpointe Health Services was ordered to merge with Trillium, the audit finds. Thousands of emails were also deleted ahead of the consolidation.

Laws on guardianship in North Carolina have remained unchanged for decades, and advocates say they don’t reflect changes in the field that call for more information and expanded rights for people whose lives are put under the control of another person, agency or business.

Only the person who has overdosed and the person who calls for help are shielded from most prosecutions for substance possession. Sometimes even those people find themselves in legal jeopardy. A new bill would provide protection for everyone at a scene from arrest and from prosecution for nonviolent offenses.

Measures aimed at restricting kids’ access to gender-affirming care, confidentiality with school personnel raise hackles among health and mental health professionals.

New research estimates that anglers who eat fish from waters contaminated by PFAS, also called “forever chemicals,” may be ingesting large doses of the chemicals. It suggests that local authorities notify fishers of contamination in the state’s waterways to help them make better decisions about where to cast their lines.

As the new legislative session begins, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expect healthy debate about Medicaid expansion, mental health care, abortion and other issues.