By Lizzie Presser and Kavitha Surana ProPublica When Ciji Graham visited a cardiologist on Nov. 14, 2023, her heart was pounding at 192 beats per minute, a rate healthy people her age usually reach during the peak of a sprint. She was having another episode of atrial fibrillation, a rapid, irregular heartbeat. The 34-year-old Greensboro, North Carolina, police […]

The post A pregnant woman at risk of heart failure couldn’t get urgent treatment. She died waiting for an abortion. appeared first on North Carolina Health News.

By Michelle Crouch Co-published with The Charlotte Ledger Measles, once considered eliminated in the U.S., is back in a big way.  Driven by declining vaccine rates and growing vaccine hesitancy, the United States experienced its largest number of measles cases in decades in 2025, with 2,242 cases reported across the country and outbreaks in Texas, […]

The post 10 things to know about measles as cases rise in North Carolina appeared first on North Carolina Health News.

By Ashley Fredde North Carolina could face hundreds of millions of dollars in new costs — or risk losing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program entirely — if counties fail to meet new federal requirements, state lawmakers were warned Tuesday during a Joint Legislative Oversight Committee hearing in Raleigh.  The new requirements were included in the […]

The post NC lawmakers weigh how to deal with unfunded mandates, cuts as feds overhaul SNAP appeared first on North Carolina Health News.

By Jaymie Baxley North Carolina has less than a year to implement a federal rule requiring “able-bodied” Medicaid participants to prove they are working, volunteering or attending school for at least 80 hours a month. A provision of the federal budget — the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law last summer by President […]

The post NC faces tight deadline, high costs to implement Medicaid work requirement appeared first on North Carolina Health News.

By Y. Tony Yang The Conversation When federal health officials announced on Jan. 5, 2026, that they were taking six out of 17 vaccines off the childhood immunization schedule, they argued that the move would give parents and caregivers more choice. Instead of all U.S. children routinely receiving them, these six vaccines are now optional […]

The post ‘Shared decision-making’ for childhood vaccines sounds empowering – but it may mean less access for families already stretched thin appeared first on North Carolina Health News.

By Rachel Crumpler Mecklenburg County sent the second-highest number of young people into North Carolina’s detention system last year — yet it has no juvenile detention center. In 2025, 2,186 people were admitted to juvenile detention centers statewide, according to data provided to NC Health News by the state Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency […]

The post Amid shortage of juvenile detention beds, a facility in Mecklenburg sits empty appeared first on North Carolina Health News.

By Jennifer Allen Coastal Review The two agencies that enforce the Clean Water Act have proposed changes to the waterbodies considered jurisdictional, or under federal protection, and the deadline for the public to comment is here. The Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers published on Nov. 20 in the Federal Register the “Updated […]

The post New year, new definition: Feds set to limit water protections appeared first on North Carolina Health News.

By Jennifer Fernandez Raleigh photographer Abigail Chopel gave birth to her daughter in January 2020, just at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.  It was a scary time, she recalled. She couldn’t get her daughter vaccinated until she was 2 years old. Chopel also worried about the health of her grandmother, who was living with […]

The post NC health officials urge vaccinations after CDC reduces the number of recommended shots appeared first on North Carolina Health News.

By Taylor Knopf Thanos first stepped into the peer cafe across from the bus station in downtown Raleigh looking for his friend — and the promise of a free coffee. What keeps him coming back months later is a community of people and group sessions that have supported his substance use recovery.   “Everybody in this […]

The post Built by peers, backed by the state: Inside North Carolina’s expanding peer support network appeared first on North Carolina Health News.

This story has been updated with additional information. By Will Atwater In North Carolina, debates over how to regulate emerging water contaminants are moving from the lab to the policy arena — and this week, those debates could translate into binding policy. The North Carolina Environmental Management Commission, which sets statewide water quality standards, is […]

The post PFAS, microplastics and what comes next for North Carolina’s water appeared first on North Carolina Health News.