N.C. Health News and In-Depth Reporting

Does Fluoride Work? This UNC Dentist Is Trying To Find Out.

UNC's study of fluoride in water is taking place in Kinston. (Julia Wall for The Assembly)

Both sides of the fluoride-in-water debate say they want a rigorous scientific study. Now UNC-Chapel Hill is doing it in Kinston.

How the N.C. Legislature Bankrolls Anti-Abortion Centers

Gateway Women’s Care is a crisis pregnancy center with three locations in the Triangle. (Kate Medley for The Assembly)

Over the past three years, the state legislature has given $30 million to crisis pregnancy centers, with little oversight or outcomes.

Why Kaiser Bet on Cone Health for Its N.C. Expansion

Risant, a nonprofit division of Kaiser Permanente, recently acquired Greensboro's Cone Health. (Carolyn de Berry for The Assembly)

The Triad-based health system hasn’t focused as aggressively on growth. Can it expand under a new owner without losing its identity?

‘We Keep Doing It for Other Women’

Sheila Mikhail waits for the start of a CT scan, which she undergoes twice a year to ensure her breast cancer has not returned. (Photo by Julia Wall for The Assembly)

Survivor Sheila Mikhail has been advocating for the state to ensure women with dense breast tissue can get additional cancer screenings.

‘A Win-Win-Win’ for N.C.’s Healthy Opportunities Pilot

From left, Dr. Elizabeth Tilson, Debra Farrington, Jonathan Kappler, and Kody Kinsley during a meeting at their Raleigh, N.C. office on Nov. 16, 2023.

North Carolina’s ambitious, $650 million Medicaid program to address the social factors that contribute to health gets a positive evaluation.

Helene Has Put New Stress On Asheville’s Unhoused Population

Asheville's 12 Baskets offers supplies to those in need during their morning meal distribution. (Caleb Johnson for The Assembly)

The area already faced rising housing prices and a growing number of people without homes.

How North Carolina Made Its Hospitals Do Something About Medical Debt

(Oona Zenda/KFF Health News)

State officials threatened to withhold public money from hospitals, pioneering a strategy that could become a national model.

Helene Poses Big Problems for Mail Service in Western NC

Mud covers the floor of the U.S. Post Office in Lansing, N.C. after Hurricane Helene. (Photo by Bryan Olin Dozier/NurPhoto via AP)

From medication to ballots, the U.S. Postal Service is a critical delivery method.

Josh Stein Draws Heat for Hands-Off Approach To Region’s Largest Endowment

Attorney General Josh Stein has drawn criticism for his handling of the New Hanover Community Endowment, created by the 2021 sale of New Hanover Regional Medical Center to Novant Health. (Illustration by Johanna F. Still)

Josh Stein has kept his distance since approving the sale of a county-owned hospital to Novant Health. A grassroots group is begging him to step in.

Expanding Minds

Rogers Masson in his home music studio. (Mike Belleme for The Assembly)

A small clinic in Waynesville has been part of a national movement to broaden the use of MDMA to treat PTSD.