Healthcare

in committee · North Carolina · House Apr 3, 2025

HB 673: Neonatal Transport Assistance.

HB 673 provides $656,000 annually from the state General Fund to cover transportation costs for neonatal patients in the UNC Health Care System when insurance denies coverage for ambulance services or mileage. It directly affects newborns requiring critical transport between UNC hospitals and their families, ensuring timely care without financial barriers from insurance denials. The bill requires the UNC Board of Governors to submit annual reports tracking funds used, number of transports covered, and effectiveness. This is a funding mechanism to fill coverage gaps, not a change to insurance rules, and takes effect July 1, 2025.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesAllocates $656,000 annually from state General Fund for neonatal transport, increasing public service funding under budget appropriations.95% confidence ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareAllocates $656k state funds to cover neonatal transport costs denied by insurance, removing financial barriers to critical healthcare access for newborns.95% confidence

Sub-Topics State Budget Children's Health Hospitals

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died · North Carolina · House Apr 3, 2025

HB 750: Community Health Center Grants for Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives.

HB 750 appropriates $2.5 million annually (2025-2027) to fund grants for nonprofit community health centers in North Carolina. These grants enable centers to purchase and distribute long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs), such as IUDs or implants, specifically for underserved, uninsured, or low-income patients. LARCs are defined as FDA-approved, temporary contraceptive methods requiring no daily user action (e.g., pills) and a prescription. The bill establishes a competitive grant process administered by the Department of Health and Human Services, targeting expanded access to these contraceptives without altering existing patient eligibility rules.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesAppropriates $2.5M annually for health center grants, directly increasing public funding for essential healthcare services under budgeting subjects.95% confidence ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareFunds community health centers to provide LARCs for underserved patients, expanding access to contraceptive care and supporting public health services.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Primary Care

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in committee · North Carolina · House Apr 3, 2025

HB 736: Pharmacists/Test and Treat.

HB 736 allows North Carolina pharmacists to perform simple tests (like for flu, COVID-19, or strep throat) and provide treatment for those conditions using approved medications, within specific guidelines. It requires health insurance plans to cover these pharmacist-provided services if they would cover the same service from a doctor or nurse, and ensures pharmacists aren't excluded from provider networks solely because they are pharmacists. Pharmacists cannot treat conditions with controlled substances (Schedules I-IV) and must follow statewide protocols for patient referrals. The bill takes effect October 1, 2025, expanding pharmacist roles to improve access to basic care.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareExpands pharmacist scope for testing/treatment, mandates insurance coverage parity, improving patient access to primary care services without physician referral.90% confidence

Sub-Topics Healthcare Workforce Insurance

Track

in committee · North Carolina · House Apr 7, 2025

HB 758: Mind and Heart Haven Project/Funds.

HB 758 appropriates $100,000 from the state General Fund for the 2025-2026 fiscal year to provide a directed grant to Agency for Families in Distress, Inc. This funding supports "The Mind and Heart Haven Project," which aims to address mental health needs in Winston-Salem, Forsyth County, and North Carolina. The bill directly affects the nonprofit organization and the communities it serves by providing dedicated resources for mental health services. The grant is nonrecurring and becomes effective July 1, 2025.

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesAppropriates $100,000 from state General Fund to fund mental health services, directly advancing public service funding through budget allocation.95% confidence ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareAllocates $100k grant to fund mental health services via nonprofit for community mental health initiatives in Forsyth County.95% confidence

Sub-Topics State Budget

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in committee · North Carolina · House Apr 7, 2025

HB 766: Expand Access to Teen Mental Health First Aid.

HB 766 appropriates $1.87 million to fund expanded Teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA) training for North Carolina high school students in grades 9-12 (ages 14-18). The bill directly affects students by providing evidence-based training to help them recognize, understand, and respond to peers' mental health and substance use challenges. Key provisions include funding for the Department of Health and Human Services to scale up tMHFA programs statewide, building on a pilot that trained 1,519 teens and showed a 50% increase in teens' willingness to seek adult support. The training focuses on connecting peers to trusted adults during crises, addressing high rates of unmet mental health needs among teens (64% don’t seek help, per the bill’s rationale).

Topics ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesAllocates $1.87M for teen mental health training via state budget, directly increasing public service funding under appropriations.95% confidence ✓ EducationSupports EducationFunds $1.87M for high school mental health training (grades 9-12), directly enhancing student support programs within K-12 education per bill's purpose.95% confidence ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareFunds $1.87M for teen mental health training, directly expanding access to mental health services for minors through school-based programs.95% confidence

Sub-Topics K-12 Education Student Health Mental Health

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in committee · North Carolina · House Apr 8, 2025

HB 803: 3-Year FDA Approval for New Childhood Vaccines.

This bill requires North Carolina's Commission for Public Health to wait at least three years after a vaccine receives U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval before adding it to the state's childhood immunization schedule. It allows exceptions only if both the North Carolina Medical Society and North Carolina Pediatric Society recommend adding a vaccine approved for less than three years. The law directly affects the Commission's authority to update vaccination requirements for school-aged children and the medical societies' role in advising on shorter-approved vaccines. It does not change existing vaccination requirements or exemptions for medical reasons.

Topics ✗ HealthcareOpposes HealthcareRequires 3-year FDA wait for new childhood vaccines, restricting Commission's ability to update immunization schedules per public health needs.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Children's Health Public Health

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in committee · North Carolina · House Apr 8, 2025

HB 796: The Student Mental Health Line Awareness Act.

HB 796, the Student Mental Health Line Awareness Act, requires all North Carolina public schools serving grades 6-12 to print three specific suicide prevention contact numbers on new student identification cards. The mandated information includes the 988 Lifeline (call/text), Crisis Text Line (text HOME to 741741), and the NC Statewide Warmline (1-855-733-7762), displayed prominently on the ID. Schools must verify these numbers are current annually and use updated contact information. The bill applies to local school boards, charter schools, regional schools, and laboratory schools, but explicitly states it does not require issuing student IDs. It takes effect for the 2025-2026 school year.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationMandates suicide prevention resources on student IDs in public schools, enhancing student mental health support within K-12 educational setting.95% confidence ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareMandates inclusion of suicide prevention contacts on student IDs to improve access to mental health crisis services, directly supporting mental health access.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Student Health Mental Health

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passed · North Carolina · House Apr 10, 2025

HB 123: Criminal Falsification of Medical Records.

HB 123 makes it a crime for health care providers to willfully destroy, alter, or falsify medical records to conceal medical errors causing patient harm, illegally obtain money, or hide facts related to potential legal claims. It creates specific criminal penalties: a serious felony for hiding errors that caused injury or death, a lesser felony for financial gain, and a misdemeanor for other concealment. The law applies to all health care providers and becomes effective December 1, 2025. It explicitly states this does not affect existing civil remedies available to patients.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareBill protects patient rights by criminalizing falsification of medical records that conceal errors causing harm, directly addressing healthcare transparency and safety standards.90% confidence

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in committee · North Carolina · House Apr 10, 2025

HB 844: Finding Grace Family Bill.

HB 844, the Finding Grace Family Bill, revises North Carolina's adoption and abortion laws. It requires the state to provide adoptive families with resources to prevent adoption dissolution (such as counseling and support services) and clarifies parental consent processes before birth (e.g., allowing biological mothers to seek court determination of consent after three months of pregnancy). The bill bans most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for medical emergencies and procedures performed within the first 12 weeks. These changes directly affect adoptive families, prospective adoptive parents, and individuals seeking abortion care in North Carolina.

Topics ✗ HealthcareOpposes HealthcareBans most abortions after 12 weeks, restricting reproductive healthcare access and limiting patient options in public health services.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Women's Health

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passed · North Carolina · Senate Apr 15, 2025

SB 335: Pharmacists/Test and Treat/Influenza and Strep.

Senate Bill 335 allows pharmacists to order and perform CLIA-waived tests to treat influenza, provided they follow statewide protocols and do not use controlled substances. The bill mandates that health benefit plans cover healthcare services provided by pharmacists if the services are within their licensed scope of practice and would be covered if performed by another healthcare provider. It also ensures consistent application of prescription drug and pharmacy service coverage requirements across insurers, third-party administrators, and pharmacy benefits managers. These changes aim to expand access to certain healthcare services through pharmacists, affecting patients, pharmacists, and health insurance providers. Most provisions become effective October 1, 2025.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareMandates insurance coverage for pharmacist-administered flu/strep tests/treatment, expanding access to care and aligning coverage with other providers per bill's scope.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Healthcare Workforce Insurance Prescription Drugs

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