Healthcare
THE NEWS & OBSERVER: An eye doctor's legal battle could upend North Carolina's health care industry
An eye doctor in New Bern could be on the cusp of changing the way decisions about health care access are made across the state. Jay Singleton is challenging a decades-old law that lets state government officials carefully restrict which health care providers can build hospitals or offer certain services, plus whether they can buy new equipment and, if so, how much money they can spend.
WLOS: "Disappointing to see that increase" Health officials, advocates react to NC overdose data
New data from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) shows that on average, nine North Carolinians died every day from drug overdoses in 2020. “It’s unfortunate to see that increase,” said Department of Public Health Senior Deputy Director Dr. Susan Kansagra. “It’s a sizable increase.”
In 2020, 3,304 people died from drug overdoses, which is up 40% compared to data from 2019, when 2,352 died from a drug overdose.