Latest news with #Sangvai
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
NC's Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services on proposed cuts to Medicaid and SNAP
NC's Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Dev Sangvai One of North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein's first acts upon assuming office earlier this year was to name a new Secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services, and from the looks of things thus far, the person to whom he turned, Dr. Dev Sangvai, was a winning selection. Since taking office, Sangvai — a family medicine practitioner and Duke University professor – has quickly hit the ground running and emerged as forceful voice for commonsense in the often rancorous world of health care policy. Most recently Sangvai has spoken out publicly and energetically in opposition to the massive Medicaid and SNAP food assistance cuts working their way through Congress. And as Sangvai reminded NC Newsline, his concerns about the cuts are about more than mere empathy for struggling families – they're also based on hard data which show the devastating ripple effects the cuts will have on North Carolina's overall health and economic wellbeing. Click here to listen to the full interview with NCDHHS Secretary Dr. Dev Sangvai.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
NC Health Secretary warns of impact from potential federal cuts to SNAP, Medicaid
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Dev Sangvai raised concerns Thursday about how the proposed federal funding cuts could impact residents who rely on critical assistance programs, specifically SNAP and Medicaid. According to the North Carolina Department of Health, approximately 1.4 million North Carolinians currently benefit from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which helps lower-income individuals and families purchase food. Currently, the federal government funds 100% of SNAP benefits and 50% of administrative costs to administer it, according to the NCDHHS. The proposed federal cuts would significantly alter this funding structure, potentially putting assistance at risk for many recipients. 'Right now, as I mentioned, the program is federally funded,' Dr. Sangvai explained. 'Some of the proposals that are coming out shifts that federal burden to the state level, and our state is already in a pretty tight situation financially. Depending on how the program plays out, it could cost North Carolina anywhere from $140 million to $700 million more per year.' The Health Secretary also expressed concerns about proposed Medicaid changes, which include implementing work requirements and increasing the frequency of eligibility determinations beyond the current annual review. These changes could result in coverage disruptions for North Carolina residents who rely on Medicaid for healthcare coverage. While Dr. Sangvai acknowledged that program improvements are necessary, he advocated for a more methodical approach to implementing changes. 'What's going to happen is individuals are going to have to balance: do I pay the heating bill, do I pay rent, or do I eat? It's a pretty precarious situation if these benefits go away,' he warned. The NC Department of Health and Human Services is monitoring the federal proposals closely as they move through the legislative process. For more information on SNAP benefits or Medicaid in North Carolina, visit the NCDHHS website here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Five years after the pandemic, Gov. Stein's nominee for health leader grilled about lessons learned
Dr. Devdutta Sangvai talks with NC Sen. Kevin Corbin after a Senate committee meeting. (Photo: Lynn Bonner) At Dr. Devdutta Sangvai's confirmation hearing Thursday, a co-chair of the Senate's health committee pressed Sangvai for his assessment of the state's COVID-19 response of four and five years ago. As secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services, Dr. Mandy Cohen was a key advisor to former Gov. Roy Cooper throughout the hard pandemic years. Sen. Amy Galey (R-Alamance) wanted to know what advice Sangvai, as head of DHHS, would give Gov. Josh Stein. Cooper issued a stay-at-home order and required all but essential businesses to close when the pandemic first started sweeping the globe five years ago. Restrictions loosened gradually. When vaccines were developed, some state employees were required to show they had received shots or be tested weekly for the virus before returning to the office. More than 29,000 deaths in the state were attributed to COVID-19. 'The shut downs, the incredible upheaval of the fundamental fabric of our society. Did we do the right thing?' asked Galey, one of the Senate Health Care Committee chairs. 'What lessons have we learned? If there is another contagion, how would you advise Gov. Stein on how to deal with an emergent public health threat?' Galey asked a variation of the question three times. Sangvai offered nearly the same response each time. He would use available information to protect people's safety. 'My commitment is to make sure that we use the evidence to guide us, make sure that we make decisions in consultation with all the right people, and importantly, continuously reevaluate as new evidence emerges and our understanding continues to improve,' he said. Sangvai was president of Duke Regional Hospital before joining the Stein administration to lead DHHS. Galey's questions indicated that while far fewer people track COVID like they did five years ago, the state's COVID response survives as a political issue. Galey said Thursday she had not seen a reckoning of what happened or what was learned. 'I think it would be really helpful for people to know that the public health community is wrestling with those questions,' she said. 'And what's the answer? It feels like the answer is hidden under a bushel somewhere because it's going to make somebody look bad. If it makes Gov. Cooper look bad, it might make President Trump look bad. It might make Mandy Cohen look bad. Well, if they need to look bad, they should,' she said. 'If we did everything great, that would be really nice to know too.' Republicans wanted schools and businesses to reopen much quicker than Cooper did. During the pandemic, the Republican legislature passed bills that would have open bars, gyms, and other businesses. Those bills did not survive Cooper's vetoes. Republicans also criticized Cooper for being too slow to allow students to return to in-person learning. Student academic performance in North Carolina and nationwide plunged and still has not fully recovered. Republicans included a provision in the 2023 budget that prevents any state or local government office from firing employees or not offering people jobs because they won't be vaccinated for COVID. Galey represents the county that's home to Ace Speedway, which defied a state ban on large public gatherings in 2020. The state shut down the race track for a short time. Its owners are suing the state, saying the business was singled out. The 2020 governor's race turned on the state's COVID health precautions. Then-Lt. Gov. Dan Forest was the Republican candidate for governor. He opposed the mask mandate, and wanted schools opened for at least some public school students in Fall 2020. His campaign events were notable for a lack of social distancing and mask-wearing. Cooper won reelection that year by about 5 points. Journalist Leoneda Inge spoke to Cohen for an episode of WUNC's Due South that aired this week. Cohen recalled that no one knew much about the virus in the earliest days. 'We were learning so quickly, and everything was changing so quickly,' she told Inge. 'There was so much we both didn't know about the virus, how was it transmitted, who was it most impacting, how fast it was moving.' And, there were no tests, vaccines, treatments, or enough protective masks, gloves and gowns for health care workers. 'We were trying to learn from every corner of the globe, and bring the best of that knowledge of North Carolina,' she said. Cohen later ran the CDC for about 18 months under former President Joe Biden. Cohen has acknowledged that COVID-19 underscored the need for clearer, more transparent communication to restore public trust. Kody Kinsley succeeded Cohen in leading the state agency for the final three years of Cooper's term. As DHHS Secretary, Kinsley worked tirelessly to rebuild bridges with Republican legislators, which helped the legislature ultimately agree to expand the state's Medicaid program. Relationships with legislators on both sides of the aisle are crucial as the state agency faces an ambitious to-do list and uncertainty about federal funding under the Trump administration. Sangvai was sworn into office in January and has been doing the job leading DHHS. The Republican legislature passed a law in December 2016, after Cooper won his first term but before he took office, requiring him to submit names to the Senate for confirmation. Most appointees are approved, but a 2021 Senate committee rejected the nomination of Cooper's choice for secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality. The Senate Health Care Committee is set to vote Wednesday on Sangvai's nomination. Most of Thursday's questions for him were about his goals for the department and challenges it faces. Improving the child welfare system is a focus, Sangvai said. Children are sleeping in county social services offices because they have nowhere else to go. A new software program that will ease communication among social services workers across county lines and a new Medicaid insurance plan set to launch later this year to help smooth coverage as children move from place to place offer hopes for improvement. Nearly a quarter of DHHS jobs are vacant. Vacancies in front-line jobs at the state's psychiatric hospitals drive up the average. Sangvai told the committee he wants to reduce employee turnover and offer paths for career growth. Promoting primary care and attention to non-medical social needs such as health food and transportation are priorities.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
North Carolina's new health leader wants to build on recent successes
Devdutta Sangvai, Department of Health and Human Services (Courtesy photo) North Carolina's top health officials start their jobs at the beginning of each new administration looking to master the details of the vast agency they lead and with budget recommendations to prepare. Dr. Devdutta 'Dev' Sangvai, the new secretary at the state Department of Health and Human Services is facing that and much more. The department will be looking for support in the legislature to expand a Medicaid program that addresses non-medical factors that influence health such as nutrition and housing, improve the child welfare system, and build on the work of the last few years improving behavioral health care. And it will have to do all this while navigating turbulence from Washington that could keep patients, medical providers and policy makers off balance. Congressional Republicans are contemplating Medicaid cuts that will affect state budgets and people who rely upon the insurance. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., founder of an anti-vaccine organization, is preparing to hold the nation's loudest health policy megaphone. Diversity programs and funding are being axed at the same time that North Carolina's public health goals focus on equity. Sangvai was president of Duke Regional Hospital in Durham before joining Gov. Josh Stein's administration to lead DHHS. He spent more than 20 years at Duke and earned an MBA from its business school. He took over from Kody Kinsley, who was at DHHS for nearly seven years, three of them as secretary. Sangvai said in an interview that while at Duke he witnessed the benefits of Medicaid expansion and the state's sharpened focus and increased spending on behavioral health care. Since North Carolina expanded Medicaid on Dec. 1, 2023, more than 625,000 low-income adults have enrolled in the government health insurance. Sangvai wants to build on the foundation established under the previous administration with a focus on expanding access to care and to the department's services. 'Some of my priorities are really thinking about how do we strengthen access in all North Carolina communities? And there are a few areas I think we need to look at – some of our state run facilities. How do we increase access there? And access is just not bricks and mortar. It's also the services we provide,' he said. 'At the end of the day, we want to make sure that individuals are able to access health care when they need it in a setting that makes sense for them.' The agency has struggled with high job vacancy rates for years that could be a bar to expanding access. Last May, the state Human Resources office reported DHHS had some of the highest vacancy rates among state agencies, at about 26%. Sangvai put the existing job vacancy rate at 20% to 23%. Health care technicians are the frontline workers at the three psychiatric hospitals and the three developmental centers the state operates. Entry-level health care technician positions had a vacancy rate of 42% in December 2023, according to the Human Resources report. Some people with developmental or intellectual disabilities have been unable to obtain help living in their communities because of shortages of direct care workers. These workers are not employed directly by the state, but work for companies that bill Medicaid. State officials have taken some steps to address workforce shortages. Last year, DHHS and the state Commerce Department published a workforce development plan that included direct care workers. In its 2023-24 budget, legislators committed $20 million per year over two years to sign-on or retention bonuses for state healthcare facility workers. The legislature has also allowed DHHS to offer targeted salary increases to recruit and retain some staff. Creating and strengthening a sustainable workforce is one of Sangvai's goals. Sangvai said he wants to add an element to retention efforts by creating 'joy and belonging' at work, and making sure employees know they can move out of entry level jobs. Filling vacancies addresses immediate needs, he said, but people may not stay in those jobs for long. 'Let's create that growth opportunity, and not just create a situation where that individual then vacates the position and we're back to where we started before,' he said. Giving people the chance to fill jobs that fit their professional goals and personal strengths may help keep people from leaving, he said. 'We're going to have to create career development opportunities. We're going to have to educate individuals on what the possibility might be, and then think creatively.' North Carolina's Medicaid expansion law includes a requirement for DHHS to pursue permission to add work requirements to the benefit if it appears possible that the federal government will endorse it. In his first term, President Donald Trump's administration approved state requests to require adults who were able to work to hold jobs in order to receive Medicaid. Courts stuck down some state's plans for Medicaid work requirements, and the Biden administration rescinded other permissions. Georgia survived a court challenge to work requirements. It instituted a 'Pathways to Coverage' program that offers most Medicaid services to low-income adults who work, go to school, or perform community service for at least 80 hours a month. A review of the program found 4,231 people were enrolled at the end of its first year, far short of the 25,000 to 100,000 expected to enroll. The report found that an unwieldy enrollment process and restrictive eligibility requirements hindered enrollment. Work requirements are back on the list of possibilities for all states, along with other changes that could affect the state's Medicaid program. Sangvai wouldn't speculate on what could happen with North Carolina Medicaid, but said he hopes the same bipartisan cooperation that fueled improvements of the last few years continues. 'It's in that spirit of consensus and collaboration that I hope prevails as we think through any of the changes that may come before us,' he said. DHHS 'is focused on the work that's ahead of us, recognizing that we may need to respond to something when it becomes more granular.' Last year, DHHS published a detailed report on health disparities that looked at differences in access to health care, incidences of cancer and heart disease, and other measures of wellbeing by race, ethnicity, and geography. The state's 10-year plan for improving health, 'Healthy North Carolina 2030,' focused on equity and factors that influence good health. Trump has diversity, equity, and inclusion in his crosshairs. He has abolished federal DEI programs and put workers who were running them on paid leave. Sangvai stressed that health differences are not based solely on race. Whether people live in rural or metro areas, whether or not they have disabilities, or are military veterans, are also play a role in health and access to health care. There's significant overlap between rural/urban health disparities and disparities based on race, he added. 'Our focus is going to be on ensuring that our programs meet the needs of most North Carolinians,' he said. Kennedy, who some doctors fear will spread misinformation about vaccines, won confirmation Thursday to become the U.S. Health and Human Services secretary. In his Senate confirmation hearings, Kennedy refused to agree that the COVID-19 vaccine saved lives or to accept the validity of scientific studies that said there's no link between autism and vaccines. The American Public Health Association and more than 75 Nobel laureates opposed his nomination. DHHS and the state's medical providers will continue to encourage vaccinations, Sangvai said. Sangvai said when he saw patients, he routinely spent time answering their questions about vaccines. Health care providers should be prepared to have conversations with patients, sometimes more than once. 'People are going to trust their healthcare provider probably more than anyone else,' he said.
