Latest news with #R-Alamance
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
NC lawmakers consider bills to lower healthcare costs
RALEIGH, N.C. () – Lawmakers in both chambers and on both sides of the aisle are pushing through measures to reform North Carolina's healthcare system. Senate Bill 316 aims to lower healthcare costs and increase transparency in billing. Key features of the measure include requiring hospitals to file reports quarterly, instead of annually, to the Department of Health and Human Services on cost data, outlawing facility fees and giving the State Auditor authority to examine billing transparency. State Senator Amy Galey (R-Alamance) said it's a step in curtailing 'unacceptably high healthcare costs.' 'Part Three is greater fairness in billing and collections practices; it requires an itemized list to any patient before referring an unpaid bill to a collection agency,' Galey said in a committee hearing last week. Here's why the the FAA wants you to lose the laser SB 316 also looks to establish a timeline for insurers to conduct prior authorizations, similar to House Bill 434. place North Carolina among the Top 10 Worst States for Health Care in 2025. Researchers said they factored in quality, cost and accessibility through 44 metrics. 'Basically, patients are not really getting the most bang for their buck,' said WalletHub writer Chip Lupo. 'We're talking about quality: quality of public hospital systems, number of hospital beds per capita, number of physicians, nurse practitioners, physicians, even dentists. Even so far down is available at urgent care centers, convenient care clinics, rural health clinics. Now that's a key point here in North Carolina.' Lupo said he recognized a 'regional pattern' tied to socioeconomic factors as several Southern states ranked near the bottom of the list. 'You go east of I-95 where I'm from. Still a lot a lot of farming, a lot of low income. So while and you would think that with Duke University and North Carolina, all these great medical centers, the health care outcome would be a little bit more favorable, North Carolina. But it's simply not the case.' According to Lupo, despite high costs and low access in some areas, patient outcomes in North Carolina are trending in a positive direction. Forbes for healthcare, citing the highest average premium for residents with 'plus-one' health insurance. The study found that Hawaii had the most affordable options. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Triad counties lag in new workforce report
TRIAD – The state has made significant strides in closing the gap between workforce needs and educational attainment since efforts were first launched in 2019, but local counties' improvement has been below average, according to a new report. Since the group myFutureNC was formed in 2019 to drive those efforts, North Carolina has added nearly 215,000 credentialed workers, bringing the total to 1.7 million residents ages 25 to 44 who hold a college degree or high-quality credential, according to myFutureNC's 2025 State of Educational Attainment Report. In 2019 it was projected that North Carolina would need to have 2 million in that age group with college degrees or industry-valued credentials by 2030 to meet the state's workforce demands because 85% of good jobs are likely to require workers to have an education beyond high school. At the time, the state was projected to have only 1.6 million by 2030. Now the state is projected to be only 55,000 short of 2 million by 2030, but further closing that gap could prove difficult, the report said. Among other reasons, currently only 31% of ninth-grade N.C. public school students graduate high school on time and earn a college degree or certificate within six years after graduation, the report said. This rate has remained stagnant. And while the share of adults aged 25-44 with a degree or credential has increased by five percentage points statewide, from 53.4% in 2019 to 58.4% in 2023, that improvement is being driven by a relatively small number of counties. Only 26 counties had improvement of more than five points while 21 rural counties had declines. Guilford County improved 3.3 percentage points. Neighboring Randolph County improved by only 2.9 points, Forsyth County by 4.2 points, and Davidson County barely had any improvement – just 0.5 of a point, the report said. The state's most-populous counties haven't done better: Charlotte and Mecklenberg County improved 3.2 points, while Raleigh and Wake County improved 3.2. myFutureNC and its partners outlined five key policy recommendations to increase educational attainment across the state: Expand scholarships for high-demand jobs that don't require a four-year college degree; enhance support and completion grants; improve college transfer transparency; invest in community-driven solutions to increase educational attainment; and support existing legislative priorities that will help to increase attainment. The report includes $40 million in legislative funding proposals that myFutureNC says would help close the achievement gap. myFutureNC also recognized several organizations and individuals for their work at the local, regional or state level, including state Rep. Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth, and Sen. Amy Galey, R-Alamance, whose district includes part of Randolph County.
