Despite substantial healthcare spending, chronic illnesses remain the biggest threat to premature death and disability, particularly among working-aged individuals. These trends undermine our economy and threaten long-term fiscal and economic well-being in our region, state, and nation. In response, the 2024 WNC Legislative Caucus is committed to addressing three pressing healthcare policy issues: Social Care Delivery Systems, NC Medicaid Expansion, and Workforce Development.

North Carolina ranks 39th in the nation for access to mental health care. Four million state residents — two in every five North Carolinians — live in an area with a mental health professional shortage and the situation is worse in rural counties, which have only 0.58 psychiatrists to every 10,000 people, compared to 1.79 per 10,000 in urban ones. 

While the APA indicates that telehealth can be especially effective for depression, ADHD, and PTSD, not all mental health conditions are equally suited for telehealth.  However, with such a severe mental health provider shortage in the region, doctors and patients — especially those in rural Western North Carolina — have to rely on telehealth, provided they have sufficient internet access. (Reprinted with permission from Carolina Public Press)

Despite substantial healthcare spending, chronic illnesses remain the biggest threat to premature death and disability, particularly among working-aged individuals. These trends undermine our economy and threaten long-term fiscal and economic well-being in our region, state, and nation. In response, the 2024 WNC Legislative Caucus is committed to addressing three pressing healthcare policy issues: Social Care Delivery Systems, NC Medicaid Expansion, and Workforce Development.

Learn how innovative programs like MAHEC’s Maternal Health Innovations Grants and Medicaid’s Healthy Opportunities Pilot are addressing WNC’s “maternal healthcare deserts,” high maternal mortality rates, and resulting increased healthcare costs. Featuring the Region 1 Perinatal Nurse Champion, Katlyn Moss (BSN. RN).