North Carolina
Blue Cross NC appeals loss of state worker contract to Aetna
RALEIGH, N.C. — Blue Cross and Blue Defend of North Carolina on Thursday formally appealed the choice by the medical health insurance plan for public workers to decide on a unique firm to manage the plan after greater than 40 years.
Blue Cross, the state’s dominant insurer, filed its request for a protest assembly with State Well being Plan performing director Sam Watts. The plan’s board of trustees voted final month to exchange Blue Cross with Aetna beginning in 2025. State Treasurer Dale Folwell introduced the bid winner final week.
As the following third-party administrator, Aetna might oversee well being care spending of greater than $17.5 billion over a five-year interval, the plan has stated. The job includes dealing with well being care bills for a number of hundred thousand state workers, lecturers, their members of the family and retirees, making certain claims are paid and constructing out a supplier community.
Within the protest letter, an legal professional for Blue Cross stated partially the bidding course of assembled by the plan was simplistic and the scoring system arbitrary, and that it did not consider how a supplier community change might hurt plan members. Durham-based Blue Cross estimates its supplier community is almost 40% bigger than Aetna’s.
“State Well being Plan members are greater than prospects, they’re our neighbors, our mates and our household, and we’ve got filed this protest to make sure the very best end result for them, for taxpayers, and for our state,” Blue Cross CEO Dr. Tunde Sotunde stated in a information launch.
Folwell, whose workplace oversees the plan and who’s trustee board chairman, stated on Thursday that he welcomed the chance for the contract course of evaluation and that Blue Cross “has the fitting to level fingers at everybody else for dropping the contract.”
The preliminary contract is three years. Folwell’s workplace has stated the Aetna contract might lead to $140 million in value financial savings ought to it prolong to the utmost of 5 years.
“We submitted an aggressive proposal affirming the State Well being Plan’s dedication to high-quality and reasonably priced well being advantages,” Jim Bostian, Aetna’s North Carolina president, stated in a written assertion Thursday.
UMR Inc., a subsidiary of United Healthcare, additionally bid for the administrator’s contract. Watts’ remaining choice might find yourself being challenged in court docket.
The State Well being Plan anticipated paying $79 million in administrative bills to Blue Cross throughout 2022 as half of the present third-party contract.
Folwell’s workplace stated the contract will have an effect on the plan’s 740,000 members. However Blue Cross stated the contract covers 580,000 individuals — that leaves out those that take part in Medicare Benefit plans.
Folwell has been sad with Blue Cross through the years due to obstacles to accessing firm paperwork that he stated would present whether or not the plan will get the very best costs for member well being bills from insurers. Laws that superior on the Basic Meeting in 2022 however did not develop into legislation might have addressed that.
A printed report this week highlighted current unhappiness by plan officers a few software program system utilized by Blue Cross.
North Carolina
Registered sex offender facing new charges after escaping in North Carolina, officials say
NEWPORT, N.C. (WBTV) – A registered sex offender is facing more charges after he allegedly escaped while on a work release assignment in North Carolina on Thursday.
State prison officials said 44-year-old Kevin Leonard Worsham Jr. was on work release when he left his assignment in the small town of Teachey in Duplin County.
He returned on his own to the work release location early Friday morning and was arrested, according to officials.
Worsham has a criminal history dating back to 2004, including a past conviction that required him to register as a sex offender.
His current sentence came after he – being a registered sex offender – failed to properly report an address change. Prison records show he was convicted of the offense in Gaston County, and was expected to be released in December 2025.
Now that he is back in custody, Worsham is facing new felony escape charges.
He was being held in the minimum-security Carteret Correctional Center in Newport, but after his escape, he will be housed at Central Prison in Raleigh.
Charlotte man accused of killing teen given bond after it was initially denied, records show
Copyright 2025 WBTV. All rights reserved.
DALLAS — Lexi Donarski had 15 points, Alyssa Ustby scored 12 and matched her career-high with 18 rebounds and No. 14 North Carolina rolled to a 64-33 victory over SMU on Thursday night.
Donarski did her damage from 3-point range, sinking 5 of 6 attempts for the Tar Heels (16-3, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). Ustby collected her seventh double-double of the season with five of them coming in the last six games.
Indya Nivar had 11 points and Maria Gakdeng totaled 10 points and seven rebounds for North Carolina, which has won three in a row and 6 of 7.
Kaysia Woods scored 12 to lead the Mustangs (10-8, 2-4).
Nivar had nine points in the first half as North Carolina turned a 13-6 first-quarter lead into a 31-14 advantage at halftime. The Tar Heels shot just 39.4% from the floor before the break, but that looked red-hot compared to SMU, which shot 13.8% overall (4 for 29).
Donarski hit her only two shots of the third quarter — both from beyond the arc — and the Tar Heels led 44-22 heading to the fourth.
Woods had five points in the final period to help SMU top the 10-point mark in a quarter for the first time in the game.
North Carolina guard Alyssa Ustby dribbles during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against SMU, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, in Dallas. Credit: AP/LM Otero
SMU allowed the biggest comeback in NCAA women’s basketball history its last time out when the Mustangs saw a 32-point lead with 1:37 left in the first half turn into a 72-59 loss to Pittsburgh. SMU was outscored 28-0 in the third quarter and 26-10 in the fourth.
North Carolina travels to play Pittsburgh on Sunday. SMU travels to play No. 3 Notre Dame on Sunday.
North Carolina
Fact Check: California, North Carolina get same recovery cost coverage from federal gov’t
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – As wildfires ravage parts of Los Angeles and Southern California this month, federal, state, and local authorities have mobilized resources to combat the flames and assist affected communities.
Their response echoes the efforts made in North Carolina just months ago, when Hurricane Helene left widespread devastation in its wake.
A viewer named Dina asked the following question: “Why is the federal government covering 100% of the recovery costs for the California wildfires, but not doing the same for Hurricane Helene recovery efforts in North Carolina?”
Her question relates to a claim being spread around social media that the government is allegedly paying for 100% of the damage in California, but not in North Carolina.
WBTV’s Fact Check team investigated the claims and found them to be false.
Here’s what we found.
Federal funding for wildfire recovery
On Tuesday, Jan. 14, President Joe Biden announced that the federal government would cover 100% of certain wildfire recovery costs in California for the next 180 days.
“The federal government is going to cover 100% of the cost for the next 180 days for things like firefighter overtime pay, debris removal, temporary shelters … It’s going to cost tens of billions of dollars to get Los Angeles back to where it was,” Biden said during a press conference.
Typically, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, aka FEMA, covers 75% of disaster recovery costs, with the remaining 25% funded by state and local governments. However, under federal law, the U.S. president has the authority to increase the federal cost-share for recovery efforts.
What about North Carolina?
Turns out, less than a week after Hurricane Helene hit North Carolina in September 2024, President Biden and FEMA announced that the same adjustment was made for Helene recovery in North Carolina.
Put another way: North Carolina has also had 100% of public recovery funds covered by the federal government since Oct. 2, 2024.
A release from the North Carolina governor’s office and FEMA explained how the president raised the federal contribution from 75% to 100% for the first 180 days of recovery. (The same time period that was just established in California).
After the six-month period, the cost-share for public assistance projects was increased from 75% to 90%. Click here to read the official FEMA release about this.
—> North Carolina Red Cross volunteers deploy to support wildfire victims in California
The verdict
President Biden’s decision to increase the federal cost-share for California wildfires is consistent with the aid provided to North Carolina following Hurricane Helene.
Claims that the federal government is covering a higher percentage of recovery costs in California compared to in North Carolina are false. Both states received identical cost-share adjustments.
If you have further questions or claims you’d like us to investigate, feel free to reach out to us at factcheck@wbtv.com.
—> State releases names of 104 Helene victims in North Carolina for 1st time: See list here
Copyright 2025 WBTV. All rights reserved.
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