Health

North Carolina showed the most improvement of any state in a major public health report released Thursday. But its ranking is still below average, like most of the South.

Sometimes it really is just in your head.

Wake Forest researchers have found that mindfulness meditation has a significant impact on pain relief compared to using a placebo.

On the Obamacare exchanges, there are large disparities in how health insurance premiums are changing next year based on where you live. While coverage is getting cheaper in states like Indiana and Mississippi, in North Carolina, it's becoming much more expensive. Federal data show that North Carolina's average premium increase is among the highest in the country.

North Carolina consumers who purchase their own health insurance will pay more next year. The State Department of Insurance approved average rate increases of between 10 and 33 percent. 

Researchers in North Carolina and nationwide may have finally answered an important question in health care: for people with high blood pressure, how low should they aim for? Late last week, the National Institutes of Health released results from a landmark study early because it’s already been conclusive.

Roughly half a million North Carolinians could soon lose money they depend on for health insurance. The U.S. Supreme Court will rule as soon as next week on a key part of the Affordable Care Act. It governs federal subsidies for states like North Carolina that did not set up their own exchange or marketplace. It may sound wonky, but the result could be disastrous for many low-income Americans and insurance markets.

Leaders on health policy in the North Carolina House are pushing their version of a bill to overhaul the state's most expensive health care program: Medicaid. The lawmakers rolled out the bill in committee Wednesday.

House leaders want to overhaul Medicaid by putting groups of doctors and hospitals in charge of managing the program. The state would give them a set amount of money based on who they treat, and the doctors would face financial penalties or rewards based on how they do. 

Republican Representative Nelson Dollar is one of the bill's sponsors. 

In North Carolina, health insurance companies are planning to raise average premiums between 11 and 26 percent next year on the Affordable Care Act exchange or marketplace.

The state's dominant insurance company, BlueCross BlueShield, wants to raise average premiums about 26 percent – almost twice as much as last year's increase.   

On Monday morning, a mayor in eastern North Carolina will begin walking to Washington, D.C, to highlight the challenges facing rural hospitals. Adam O'Neal is mayor of the small town of Belhaven, where the only hospital closed about a year ago.

After a heart attack or other health care emergency, the time it takes to get to a hospital can mean the difference between life and death.

Mayor Adam O'Neal says for the roughly 1,600 residents of Belhaven, "you have to go 30 miles on country roads for emergency care."

North Carolina leaders are calling out several cancer charities that barely used any of the money they raised to actually benefit cancer victims. Attorney General Roy Cooper and Secretary of State Elaine Marshall announced Tuesday they're part of a lawsuit against what they call "phony" charities. 

Secretary Marshall says government leaders "are sending the message to those trying to rip-off the giving public that we can find you, shut you down, and take you to court."

In Charlotte and across the country, there’s a growing need at community health centers. They treat patients regardless of their ability to pay. And the increased need is a surprising result to some clinic leaders, who thought the Affordable Care Act would mean fewer people needing charity care.

North Carolina has some of the worst rated nursing homes in the country. A report from the Kaiser Family Foundation released Thursday shows the federal government gave more than 40 percent of the state's nursing homes one or two star ratings.

Nine nursing homes in the Charlotte area received the lowest possible rating, one star:

One of the nation's most respected cancer hospitals for children is establishing an affiliate clinic in Charlotte. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital announced Tuesday it's partnering with Novant Health on the clinic.