ECU Health Pop Up series provides health care to rural counties
Another service provided was a free fruit and vegetable giveaway, thanks to partnering service provider, Conetoe Family Life Center. The event offered health services as an opportunity to support rural health directly. Community Health Improvement Coordinator, Kelly Ange, who serves ECU Health Beaufort Hospital, says events like this help improve outcomes in Eastern North Carolina.
'ECU Health just wanted to bring quality health care here to Martin County,' she said.
'So, we're offering free health screenings to include height, weight, BMI, high blood pressure, glucose, and cholesterol screening. So that's a whole lot for one day, right? And we've also brought free produce with us as well as ways to get hooked up to insurance, as well as if you don't have a primary care provider, we have a way here for you to get connected'
The next event is Thursday, June 5th at Faith Community Outreach Food Distribution Center in Robersonville from noon to 4 o'clock. Click the video above for more.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
12 hours ago
- The Hill
ACA premiums set to spike
The proposed rates are preliminary and could change before being finalized in late summer. The analysis includes proposed rate changes from 312 insurers in all 50 states and DC. It's the largest rate change insurers have requested since 2018, the last time that policy uncertainty contributed to sharp premium increases. On average, ACA marketplace insurers are raising premiums by about 20 percent in 2026, KFF found. Insurers said they wanted higher premiums to cover rising health care costs, like hospitalizations and physician care, as well as prescription drug costs. Tariffs on imported goods could play a role in rising medical costs, but insurers said there was a lot of uncertainty around implementation, and not many insurers were citing tariffs as a reason for higher rates. But they are adding in higher increases due to changes being made by the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress. For instance, the majority of insurers said they are taking into account the potential expiration of enhanced premium tax credits. Those subsidies, put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, are set to expire at the end of the year, and there are few signs that Republicans are interested in tackling the issue at all. If Congress takes no action, premiums for subsidized enrollees are projected to increase by over 75 percent starting in January 2026, according to KFF. But some states are pushing back. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) on Wednesday called on the state's insurance commissioner to disapprove the proposed increases from Centene and Blue Cross Blue Shield. The companies filed increases of up to 54 percent and 25.5 percent, respectively, she said. 'Arkansas' Insurance Commissioner is required to disapprove of proposed rate increases if they are excessive or discriminatory, and these are both,' Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. 'I'm calling on my Commissioner to follow the law, reject these insane rate increases, and protect Arkansans.'
Wall Street Journal
a day ago
- Wall Street Journal
Oscar Health Swings to Loss as Forecast, Expects Return to Profitability in 2026
Oscar Health OSCR -0.14%decrease; red down pointing triangle swung to a loss in its latest quarter as previously forecast, reflecting the financial challenges for some in the healthcare sector. The health insurance agency in July warned that it expected to report a steep loss in the quarter, citing data that showed overall ACA Marketplace risk scores rose higher than expected. It forecast a loss of $228 million and a loss from operations of $230 million.
Newsweek
a day ago
- Newsweek
Illinois Removes Nearly 700,000 People From Health Care Plan
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Almost 700,000 Americans have been removed from a health care plan in Illinois over a two-year period, data from KFF, a nonprofit health policy research and news organization, has shown. These Americans have been removed from the state's Medicaid program as part of the unwinding process happening nationwide after Medicaid coverage was expanded during the COVID pandemic. Newsweek has contacted the Illinois Department of Public Health via email for comment. Why It Matters While some of those disenrolled from the program in Illinois may have access to other forms of health insurance, many risk losing all access to health coverage. There has been growing concern in recent months about how high levels of uninsured Americans could impact health outcomes, as without coverage, Americans may delay seeking medical care. This in turn could potentially increase demand for emergency care services, while ramping up costs and worsening chronic and mental health conditions. In this file photo, a doctor pushes a man in a wheelchair. In this file photo, a doctor pushes a man in a To Know During the COVID pandemic, some states expanded access to Medicaid, the federal health program for those with limited income and resources, through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). These states were then forced to keep recipients on the program despite any changes to their eligibility until March 2023 under federal rules. That month, states were then allowed to start the "unwinding" process, whereby those no longer eligible for the program were rolled off. In Illinois, there were 3,826,461 covered by Medicaid in March 2023, but by April 2025, that number was 3,146,295, KFF data shows. However, while this marked a drop of hundreds of thousands of Medicaid recipients, the enrollment levels did not return back to pre-pandemic levels, as they were still 7 percent higher than levels in February 2020. "The unwinding has taken place over a year and Medicaid enrollment is still higher now than in the pre-pandemic period," Kathleen Adams, professor of health policy and management at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Georgia, told Newsweek. There are also variations between states in relation to how quickly the unwinding process is occurring. While highly populated states like California, Florida, New York and Texas have all seen bigger drops in enrollment than Illinois, there is also a difference in rate between states based on which opted to expand Medicaid. "Some states that had not expanded Medicaid under the ACA did so recently and many of them show the largest increases in enrollment from their pre-pandemic levels," Adams said. Differences in how the states approached the unwinding process also had an impact. Going forward, concerns with Medicaid enrollment are increasing as the Trump administration's planned changes to the program, under President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill," will fall into place—such as work requirements impacting eligibility. What People Are Saying Adams also told Newsweek: "We are always concerned with the loss of insurance coverage, especially among the lower income and vulnerable groups traditionally served by Medicaid. If these individuals are not able to find a source of other coverage such as Employer Sponsored Insurance or through the subsidized exchanges, they will have lower access to needed health care, face higher costs if they obtain care and could impose costs on the health care system as they are forced to seek care in ERs or other publicly subsidized sources of care." She added: "The loss of insurance coverage among lower-income and medically fragile individuals, often covered by Medicaid programs, can certainly increase health problems in the US. With the loss of coverage, households lose access to needed services such as preventive and primary care and as well as the services needed to manage chronic conditions. The overall health of the nation can be affected. There would also be increased demand for services from the safety-net system, for example Federally Qualified Health Centers, and increased uncompensated care costs at our hospitals." What Happens Next As the unwinding continues, more reductions in enrollment are expected across the country, elevating concerns about how the rates of uninsured Americans could impact health outcomes.
