ReportWire

Tag: Marshall Keely

  • ‘We are desperate’: Stein calls session on Medicaid funding as cuts hit

    [ad_1]

    RALEIGH, N.C. — As a budget stalemate continues in Raleigh, Gov. Josh Stein is renewing calls for the General Assembly to get back to work on a deal.

    With no budget, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services cut Medicaid reimbursement rates, saying it needed to make up for a gap in funding.

    What You Need To Know

    • DHHS cut Medicaid reimbursement rates for some services by 3% to 10% on Oct. 1, citing a funding shortfall

    • Parents sued DHHS over cuts to behavioral health treatment and a judge awarded a pause

    • Gov. Josh Stein called on lawmakers to return to Raleigh and reach an agreement to fund Medicaid

    • Republicans in the House and Senate are at odds over a potential state investment in a children’s hospital and have not reached a budget deal


    Now, some of those cuts are being pulled back by a judge’s order.

    Health care providers saw Medicaid reimbursement rates drop less than a week ago.

    On Wednesday, Superior Court Judge G. Bryan Collins issued a temporary restraining order that puts a pause on cuts to Medicaid reimbursement rates for behavioral health treatments.

    The state Department of Health and Human Services cut Medicaid reimbursement rates for certain services by 3% to 10% on Oct. 1.

    It included a 10% rate decrease to research-based behavioral health treatments.

    Twenty-two parents of children diagnosed with autism or who are receiving therapy sued DHHS, saying the cuts would keep kids from being treated.

    They said it’s a violation of the state’s constitution.

    The plaintiffs in the lawsuit against DHHS filed a motion for a preliminary injunction.

    That would keep the Medicaid rates for behavioral health services in place until the case is decided in court.

    A judge will choose whether to grant that request in a hearing on Nov. 10.

    Stein did not address that lawsuit in a press conference outside the state capitol on Thursday but acknowledged the cuts’ potential impact to people with autism and vulnerable populations.

    He called on lawmakers to come back to Raleigh for an extra session on Nov. 17 to hammer out a deal to fund Medicaid.

    “We are desperate to restore the funding levels to where they were before, but by law we cannot spend money that we do not have, nor should we spend money that we do not have,” Stein said. “The legislature has not fully funded Medicaid, they know they’ve not fully funded Medicaid.”

    DHHS Secretary Dev Sangvai said the state’s Medicaid shortfall is roughly $319 million.

    He said the department is starting to receive emails from a handful of larger providers saying they may exit Medicaid at the end of the month.

    Republicans have been critical of Stein and DHHS, saying the cuts to Medicaid were unnecessary.

    House Speaker Destin Hall has called it a “manufactured crisis.”

    The governor today used the same term but blamed the General Assembly.

    To this point the House and Senate appear no closer to funding Medicaid or reaching a budget agreement, with leadership from both chambers signaling they’ve likely already cast their final votes of the year.

    The chambers have been at odds over potential state funding for a children’s hospital system and money for a rural health care initiative.

    Republicans in the Senate are in favor, but Republicans in the House are opposed.

    Stein said his most recent conversations with Republican leadership in the House and Senate did not go as he had hoped.

    Follow us on Instagram at spectrumnews1nc for news and other happenings across North Carolina.

    [ad_2]

    Marshall Keely

    Source link

  • N.C. food bank addressing ‘increased need’ during federal shutdown

    [ad_1]

    RALEIGH, N.C. — Weeks into a federal shutdown, furloughed federal workers are starting to feel the pinch.

    Many missed their first paycheck last Friday, and this week some of them showed up to North Carolina food banks looking for help.

    What You Need To Know

    • The Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina has seen more need in just the last week as the federal shutdown starts to impact furloughed workers

    • Produce is on a 24-hour clock. It comes and goes in less than a day

    • Two years ago the food bank served 450,000 people faced with hunger. This year that number is 600,000

    • Federal workers impacted by the shutdown are seeking food resources in N.C.


    Boxes of produce are flying out of the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina in Raleigh as volunteers load up trucks and prepare pallets of goods for a growing number of North Carolinians.

    “These are real humans. These are not numbers on a spreadsheet,” said Amy Beros, CEO of The Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. “This is impacting our neighbors.”

    Beros said the organization has seen more need in just the last week as the federal shutdown starts to impact furloughed workers.

    The produce here is on a 24-hour clock. It comes and goes in less than a day.

    “We’re definitely seeing an increased need already from the shutdown, especially from our federal workers who just missed their first paycheck,” Beros said.

    Many of those people, Beros said, have never used a food bank before.

    “We got an email on Monday from someone, a father who said, ‘I’m a federal worker. I missed my paycheck this week, and I have five children. I don’t know how I’m going to put food on the table. Where can I go?’” Beros said.

    It comes as the food bank deals with increasing need in the 34 counties it serves.

    Two years ago, the bank served 450,000 people faced with hunger. This year that number is 600,000.

    In response to the shutdown, the food bank is connecting with local organizations to set up direct food distributions and pop-up markets for federal workers.

    “We know it’s hard to ask for help, but we want to make it as easy as possible for them to get the help that they need,” Beros said.

    As the nonprofit navigates the increased need, it’s calling on federal lawmakers to find a solution to the shutdown and address food insecurity nationwide.

    “These programs that have been cut are going to drastically increase the need and impact the health of our communities,” Beros said. “We also believe that the government shutdown is going to do more harm to our community. We need people to act and ask their leaders to come together and have these conversations.”

    The Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina said it’s seeing more people visiting its facilities and asking for food directly, unsure of where to go.

    Food bank officials said a higher cost of living is contributing to the increased need.

    [ad_2]

    Marshall Keely

    Source link

  • How N.C. professor finds bees that fight deadly mite

    [ad_1]

    RALEIGH, N.C. — A pesky parasite is impacting bees, threatening colonies all over the world. 

    Bees keep our crops pollinated and now their keepers are looking for a way to stop this killer. Honey bees are a key contributor in the state’s largest industry.

    What You Need To Know

    • The Varroa destructor is threatening honey bee populations globally 

    • Research at UNC Greensboro aims to find bees that can fight off the mite

    • UBeeO is a spray that mimics the scent of a Varroa mite, helping researchers locate hygienic bees

    • Researchers are studying healthy bees’ microbiome, hoping to one day develop a food to improve their overall health


    “Part of our goal really is shoring up food security, crop production in North Carolina,” said Kaira Wagoner, a research scientist at UNC Greensboro.

    Wagoner and her team are keeping the buzz about bees going from the honeycomb to the fume hoods.

    Wagoner’s passion is protecting one of the planet’s most prolific pollinators. 

    Researchers have pinpointed the parasite responsible for decimating bee colonies across the country.

    The Varroa destructor, a small mite that’s living up to its name, is feeding on honey bees and amplifying deadly viruses, Wagoner said.

    “That’s really the No. 1 threat to honey bee health in the United States, and really globally, is this mite and the damage that it causes through spreading of those diseases,” she said.

    These sly creatures bury themselves in brood cells, the small hexagonal openings in the hive, where bee pupa are developing. 

    “She hides under that food and has a snorkel to breathe,” Wagoner said. “They cap over that cell so she can’t be detected as easily. Then the baby bee will eat up that food, releasing her from that brood food. She’ll come out and start feeding on the baby.”

    Wagoner said some bees have a way of stopping the spread. 

    “The honey bees that can smell very well, that are very sensitive, can then detect these Varroa mites, these problems, and throw them out of the colony, preventing the colony from dying,” Wagoner said.

    Wagoner developed a method to find these overly hygienic bees so they can be used for future breeding. 

    Her technology is called unhealthy brood odor or UBeeO. The pheromone-based spray mimics the scent of a Varroa mite. 

    Once it’s on the frame, it’s placed back in the beehive.

    Two hours later the same frame is removed, examined and photographed to document the progress.

    The tests we saw had mixed results. 

    The first frames were mostly untouched, and this hive didn’t uncap any cells.

    A second set of bees removed a few, even pulling out some of the pupa to prevent potential spread and look for mites.

    The final test we watched had near perfect results. 

    The bees checked every sprayed cell.

    Wagoner says colonies that can identify at least 60% of the sprayed cells have fewer mites, less bacteria and lower fungal loads. 

    High-scoring colonies are also found to have fewer viruses, all qualities that make them good candidates for selective breeding, a process intended to strengthen bees.

    Wagoner is exploring another discovery using NCInnovation funding from the state.

    She found hygienic honey bees have a different microbiota from less-hygienic bees. 

    Her team of researchers is now exploring that link. 

    “We have potential to develop a product out of this, finding that could actually improve honey bee health,” Wagoner said. “We’re starting to get into that in the last few years and we have a lot of exciting research ahead of us, thanks to NCInnovation.”

    Wagoner said beekeepers from all over the world are interested in her research and starting to use UBeeO for themselves to identify hygienic bees. 

    She hopes her technology can promote more intentional breeding that can help bees be more resistant to parasites and save farmers money by eliminating the need for expensive miticides.

    [ad_2]

    Marshall Keely

    Source link