Topics Related to Healthcare

As Tuesday marks the expiration of the President’s public health emergency to combat the opioid crisis, Governor Roy Cooper urged Congress to take action on the recommendations of the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis.

Despite a shorter signup period, 523,989 people in North Carolina signed up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. Governor Roy Cooper and DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen, M.D., thanked more than a dozen organizations that helped with enrollments before the Dec. 15 deadline.

New rules that set limits on the quantity of opioids that can be prescribed take effect Jan. 1, 2018. The STOP Act, supported by Governor Roy Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein, sets new initial prescribing limits and is part of the state’s multi-pronged effort to reduce the oversupply of prescription opioids that has contributed to increased addiction and unintentional overdose deaths.

Governor Roy Cooper announced today that North Carolina will join the Pew-MacArthur Results First Initiative, focused on investing taxpayer dollars wisely in programs and policies that are proven to work.

Current Deadline for Signup is Dec. 15
 
North Carolinians can visit HealthCare.gov or call 1-800-318-2596 to sign up

 

The open enrollment period for health insurance plans for 2018 closes on December 15, 2017. North Carolinians who do not receive health insurance through their employer have an opportunity to compare plans and sign up for quality coverage through HealthCare.gov or calling toll-free 1-800-318-2596.

Governor Roy Cooper proclaimed today Rural Health Day in North Carolina, noting that when the N.C. Office of Rural Health opened in 1973 it was the first state office in the nation created to focus on the health care needs of rural and underserved communities.

Governor Roy Cooper today encouraged North Carolinians who do not have health insurance coverage to enroll for 2018 through the Health Insurance Marketplace at HealthCare.gov.

North Carolina is making nearly 40,000 more units of life-saving medication available to help fight the opioid epidemic, Governor Roy Cooper announced today. The state has purchased the additional naloxone, which can reverse opioid overdose, to help reduce the number of unintentional opioid-related deaths in North Carolina.

Governor Roy Cooper, a member of the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, shared the following comment after the Commission voted unanimously to submit their final report to the President.

“The opioid crisis is real. People’s lives and our economy depend on strong and decisive action. In North Carolina, we have seen a 1000% increase in opioid-related deaths since 1999. The opioid epidemic has cost our country and our state too many lives already, and today, I voted to send the President a robust set of recommendations for action the federal government can take to combat this crisis.