Department of Health and Human Services

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."

Helene damaged more than 200 child care centers in western North Carolina, and at least 55 of the hardest-hit centers are expected to remain closed for months.

The state health department asked for $458 billion to keep up with rising Medicaid costs.

A grandmother’s decades-long battle against lead contamination could come to a close soon if she can get just one more domino to fall.

New state funding may help some of the region’s most vulnerable: children in foster care who live in social services offices because of a lack of foster family placements.The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced the DSS Emergency Placement Fund to provide county departments of social services with resources to help children in their custody. Check out the breakdown of funding in WNC.

The number of people who have enrolled in Medicaid in North Carolina since expansion began in December is now over 310,000. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper offered that figure on Wednesday while at a Raleigh event with the nation’s chief Medicaid regulator to talk about expansion and those getting other subsidized insurance offered through the Affordable Care Act.

Increased reimbursement for psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, substance use treatment professionals and others may lead more of them to accept Medicaid — expanding access to care for state residents.

Federal regulators have given their final approval for North Carolina to begin offering Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of low-income adults on Dec. 1.

Dr. Mandy Cohen, the secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services, is stepping down, WUNC has confirmed. She quickly became the public face of North Carolina's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tucked in the new state budget is an expansion of services for families of children with severe intellectual and developmental disabilities. More than 28,000 families in the state qualify for state funding for in-home care like speech or behavioral therapies.