Ashley Fredde
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Currently, legislative & aging reporter for @nchealthnews. Formerly, @KSLcom. @uazjschool alumni. Avid collector of hobbies & trinkets. RT ≠ endorsement.
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Articles by Ashley Fredde
NC legal aid groups sue over lawmakers’ redirection of millions in funding
Three North Carolina legal aid organizations are suing state legislative leaders over a budget provision that redirects millions of dollars from programs that provide low-income residents with free civil legal services to attorneys who represent people who cannot afford a lawyer in criminal cases.
NC legal aid groups sue over lawmakers’ redirection of millions in funding
Three North Carolina legal aid organizations are suing state legislative leaders over a budget provision that redirects millions of dollars from programs that provide low-income residents with free civil legal services to attorneys who represent people who cannot afford a lawyer in criminal cases.
NC legal aid groups sue over lawmakers’ redirection of millions in funding
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NC legal aid groups sue over lawmakers’ redirection of millions in funding Original
Three North Carolina legal aid organizations are suing state legislative leaders over a budget provision that redirects millions of dollars from programs that provide low-income residents with free civil legal services to attorneys who represent people who cannot afford a lawyer in criminal cases.
NC legal aid groups sue over lawmakers’ redirection of millions in funding
Three North Carolina legal aid organizations are suing state legislative leaders over a budget provision that redirects millions of dollars from programs that provide low-income residents with free civil legal services to attorneys who represent people who cannot afford a lawyer in criminal cases.
NC legal aid groups sue over lawmakers’ redirection of millions in funding
Key takeaways: Three North Carolina legal aid groups are challenging changes to a decades-old funding program. The funding shift could affect how many low-income North Carolinians receive free civil legal services. The fight comes as Western North Carolina continues its long-term recovery from Hurricane Helene.
A deadly crash, missed warnings and a nursing home under repeated federal sanctions
George Marks’ death happened after documented safety concerns at a Charlotte nursing home, including concerns about his awareness, decision-making and repeated unsafe behavior. State inspectors found that the facility failed to safeguard Marks. The Marks case is part of a broader accountability question about nursing homes and private equity ownership. The morning of Oct. 17, 2023, was dawning in Charlotte when George Marks rolled out of The Citadel at Myers Park in his electric wheelchair.
Temporary Medicare program that lowered prescription drug premiums ending early Original
Aug. 12, 2026, 5:01 a.m. ET The Trump administration is ending a temporary federal program — created to soften the effects of Medicare’s biggest prescription drug overhaul in nearly two decades — a year earlier than planned. The move, experts say, could mean higher monthly premiums for some North Carolinians and create new hurdles for beneficiaries with limited incomes.
Temporary Medicare program that lowered prescription drug premiums is ending early. Here’s what that means for seniors.
Key Takeways: A Medicare program that helped keep Part D prescription drug premiums stable will end after 2026, a year earlier than planned. Advocates worry the change could mean higher costs and fewer affordable drug plan options, especially for low-income beneficiaries. Experts say seniors should carefully review their coverage during Medicare open enrollment this fall because things may change significantly for 2027.
NC counties absorb new SNAP costs without state money
NC counties absorb new SNAP costs without state money Published Sunday, July 19, 2026 1:57 pm By Ashley Fredde | North Carolina Health News CHATHAM OUTREACH ASSISTANCE CORA, or Chatham Outreach Assistance, offers fresh produce at a food pantry. Scotland County Manager April Snead spent this year’s budget season outlining the kinds of tradeoffs that local governments face every spring: which capital projects can move forward, which can wait and how to stretch taxpayer dollars.
State budget advances plan to reopen Martin County hospital
North Carolina Health News Headlines Newsletter July 13, 2026 By Jaymie Baxley Listed among the recent state budget's thousands of line items is a $25 million allocation to restore emergency department services in Martin County. The funding represents a major victory in the county’s three-year struggle to reopen Martin General Hospital. Decades of mounting financial losses led to the 42-bed facility’s closure in 2023, leaving residents without local access to life-saving care.
NC’s first full budget since 2023 reflects transformed health policy landscape Original
A lot has happened in the world of health care since September 2023, the last time the North Carolina General Assembly passed a comprehensive budget bill. The state was flush with leftover federal pandemic aid dollars that year. Additionally, the Biden administration sent the state a $1.6 billion bonus for agreeing to expand Medicaid. That made it possible for lawmakers to add more than $835 million in mental health spending to the 2023-24 budget plan.
‘We have to juggle other things’: NC counties will have to absorb new SNAP costs without state funding
By Ashley Fredde Scotland County Manager April Snead spent this year’s budget season outlining the kinds of tradeoffs that local governments face every spring: which capital projects can move forward, which can wait and how to stretch taxpayer dollars. This year, another unexpected expense landed on the ledger. Beginning Oct. 1, North Carolina counties will start to shoulder millions of dollars in additional administrative costs to operate the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
NC’s first full budget since 2023 reflects transformed health policy landscape
Key takeaways: Federal changes under H.R. 1 are reshaping state spending on Medicaid and SNAP. The state will face steeper Medicaid and SNAP cost-sharing burdens in coming years as federal funding responsibilities shift to North Carolina. After nearly a year without funding, the budget allocates just $25 million to resume the Healthy Opportunities Pilot — far less than the $80 million regional organizations requested.
NC Senate Passes Bill to Restrict Homeless Encampments, Expand Drug Penalties
An encampment that came to be known as Tent City near Uptown in February 2021. (Photo by Grant Baldwin) The NC Senate approved legislation last week that would prohibit local governments from allowing homeless encampments on public property and create enhanced penalties for some drug crimes committed near homeless service providers.
NC Senate passes bill to restrict homeless encampments, expand drug penalties
The North Carolina Senate approved legislation Wednesday that would prohibit local governments from allowing homeless encampments on public property and create enhanced penalties for some drug crimes committed near homeless service providers. House Bill 437 would bar cities and counties from regularly allowing public camping or sleeping on public property, including parks, sidewalks, public buildings and rights-of-way.
NC Senate passes bill to restrict homeless encampments, expand drug penalties
The North Carolina Senate approved legislation Wednesday that would prohibit local governments from allowing homeless encampments on public property and create enhanced penalties for some drug crimes committed near homeless service providers. House Bill 437 would bar cities and counties from regularly allowing public camping or sleeping on public property, including parks, sidewalks, public buildings and rights-of-way.
Lawmakers agree North Carolina has a maternal health crisis. So why are reforms stalling?
The crisis is measurable. Black women in the U.S. are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women, and bias or discrimination was identified as a contributing factor in 70 percent of North Carolina maternal deaths, per the state’s own 2024 review committee. Solutions exist and have proven results, but keep stalling in legislative committees.
NC lawmakers eye more child welfare changes after Charlotte girl’s death exposes chronic gaps in the system
UPDATE: The House Oversight Committee called on DA Spencer Merriweather in a letter to conduct an immediate criminal investigation into the employees who "handled, supervised, approved, screened out, documented, failed to document" any report in Dominique Moody's case. Outrage over the death of Moore County toddler Rylan Ott in 2016 compelled North Carolina on a path to improve its child welfare system.
NC lawmakers eye more child welfare changes after Charlotte girl’s death exposes chronic gaps in the system
Outrage over the death of Moore County toddler Rylan Ott in 2016 compelled North Carolina on a path to improve its child welfare system. Nearly a decade later, the state has rolled out several of those reforms — a statewide office focused on preventing child fatalities, regional supervisory offices to provide more support to county departments of social services, and a modernized intake and assessment system for all 100 counties that will eventually include case management.
Delayed, denied, diffused: Families face an uphill battle in nursing home cases
When first responders responded within minutes to a 911 call from Clayton Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Johnston County, they arrived to find that resuscitation had not yet begun. The resident was pronounced dead just over 30 minutes after the call. At the same nursing home, a resident asked for her wound dressing to be changed after reporting pain and a foul odor. Staff allegedly declined the request. The next day, she saw maggots crawling from the pressure sore.
States Newsroom: Q & A -- How global health changes could impact Ebola response
As the world has waited with bated breath to see if the small outbreak of the hantavirus aboard a cruise ship would multiply and spread beyond borders — another infectious disease crisis vaulted into worldview. On May 15, 2026, the Africa CDC confirmed a new Ebola outbreak centered in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The World Health Organization quickly declared the epidemic a public health emergency of international concern.
Delayed, denied, diffused: Families face an uphill battle in nursing home cases
When first responders responded within minutes to a 911 call from Clayton Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Johnston County, they arrived to find that resuscitation had not yet begun. The resident was pronounced dead just over 30 minutes after the call. At the same nursing home, a resident asked for her wound dressing to be changed after reporting pain and a foul odor. Staff allegedly declined the request. The next day, she saw maggots crawling from the pressure sore.
NC lawmakers debate changes in adult care home inspections Original
Ashley Fredde NC Health News May 25, 2026, 5:03 a.m. ET State lawmakers are proposing a bill they say would reduce administrative burden and redundancy for inspections in adult care homes, the places that manage the care for some of the state’s most vulnerable residents. “Adult care homes” have a specific designation in North Carolina.
Rose Hoban, Author at Arkansas Advocate
Q & A: How global health changes could impact Ebola response As the world has waited with bated breath to see if the small outbreak of the hantavirus aboard a cruise ship would multiply and spread beyond borders — another infectious disease crisis vaulted into worldview. Last Friday, the Africa CDC confirmed a new Ebola outbreak centered in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The World Health […]
Q & A with Dr. Wohl: How global health changes could impact Ebola response Original
As the world has waited with bated breath to see if the small outbreak of the hantavirus aboard a cruise ship would multiply and spread beyond borders — another infectious disease crisis vaulted into worldview. Last Friday, the Africa CDC confirmed a new Ebola outbreak centered in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The World Health Organization quickly declared the epidemic a public health emergency of international concern.
Adult care home inspections: repetitive or necessary? NC lawmakers debate changes
State lawmakers are proposing a bill they say would reduce administrative burden and redundancy for inspections in adult care homes, the places that manage the care for some of the state’s most vulnerable residents. “Adult care homes” have a specific designation in North Carolina.
Q & A with Dr. Wohl: How global health changes could impact Ebola response
As the world has waited with bated breath to see if the small outbreak of the hantavirus aboard a cruise ship would multiply and spread beyond borders — another infectious disease crisis vaulted into worldview. Last Friday, the Africa CDC confirmed a new Ebola outbreak centered in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The World Health Organization quickly declared the epidemic a public health emergency of international concern.
‘There’s a quiet crisis’: NC families, advocates plead for greater disability services investment
Kay McMillan is a young woman in her early 30s who graduated summa cum laude at NC State and now runs her own nonprofit combining her two passions — disability rights and teaching youth leadership skills. She lives in a Cary townhouse with two housemates she calls her “Monica” and “Rachel” after characters in the hit ’90s sitcom Friends. In her free time, which she admits is limited due to her work, she enjoys playing Boccia ball, watching Netflix and spending time with her many friends.
NC lawmakers propose raising tobacco age to 21, adding retail permits
Be Lanier, a sophomore at Cape Fear Academy, recently turned 16 years old — a milestone that often brings new independence. But for Lanier, it’s hard to think about getting older when she thinks about Solly Wynn, a 15-year-old from Wilmington who died from health complications related to vaping. “That’s so close in age, and to even think about that is very scary — simply from a perspective of a premature death that could have been prevented,” Lanier said.
Medicaid breakthrough comes with unexpected immigration mandates
Lawmakers voted for a $319 million package on Wednesday to fully fund the state’s Medicaid program through the end of the fiscal year, settling a monthslong feud with the governor over how much it will cost to avert a projected shortfall in May.
Medicaid breakthrough comes with unexpected immigration mandates
Lawmakers voted for a $319 million package on Wednesday to fully fund the state’s Medicaid program through the end of the fiscal year, settling a monthslong feud with the governor over how much it will cost to avert a projected shortfall in May.
Rural hospitals face federal funding cuts, look to NC lawmakers for support
FirstHealth of the Carolinas provides proof that small, rural hospital systems can be excellent. The system, based in the Sandhills, has four hospitals and nearly 100 clinics covering 13 North Carolina counties and two in South Carolina.
Lawmakers hear how rural women face risks to give birth
In North Carolina, where a clinician practices can make all the difference for someone seeking maternity care — it’s the birth equivalent of “location, location, location.” Dozens of counties have no local obstetrics care, so families are forced to travel long distances for deliveries. That distance to care for rural patients has been linked to higher rates of cesarean sections, preterm births and maternal complications.
Lawmakers hear how rural women face risks to give birth
In North Carolina, where a clinician practices can make all the difference for someone seeking maternity care — it’s the birth equivalent of “location, location, location.” Dozens of counties have no local obstetrics care, so families are forced to travel long distances for deliveries. That distance to care for rural patients has been linked to higher rates of cesarean sections, preterm births and maternal complications.
Lawmakers hear how rural women face risks to give birth
In North Carolina, where a clinician practices can make all the difference for someone seeking maternity care — it’s the birth equivalent of “location, location, location.” Dozens of counties have no local obstetrics care, so families are forced to travel long distances for deliveries. That distance to care for rural patients has been linked to higher rates of cesarean sections, preterm births and maternal complications.
NC's Teepa Snow is teaching how to approach dementia differently
Teepa Snow had been properly warned that “Ms. Jackson is on a tear” by the on-duty nurse when she strode into the room. She recalls huffing in exasperation and thinking in response “That’s because yall don’t know how to do this.” By her own admission, as a young nursing assistant she was cocky — but not without merit. Snow, now 71, had worked with people with developmental disabilities as a teen and throughout her earlier adulthood, starting her career in the basement of a church.
From sanctuary to senior housing, Milner Commons reflects shifting needs
Sunlight pours through stained glass windows onto rows of wooden pews that, on occasion, still hold hymnals. But Milner Memorial Presbyterian Church, where those same windows once illuminated weekly worship, is gone. In its place stands Milner Commons, an affordable housing complex for older adults that is designed to preserve pieces of the church’s past while serving a new purpose.
From sanctuary to senior housing, Milner Commons reflects shifting needs
Sunlight pours through stained glass windows onto rows of wooden pews that, on occasion, still hold hymnals. But Milner Memorial Presbyterian Church, where those same windows once illuminated weekly worship, is gone. In its place stands Milner Commons, an affordable housing complex for older adults that is designed to preserve pieces of the church’s past while serving a new purpose.
Advocates urge safeguards for caregivers under new Medicaid work requirements
The number of family caregivers is rising across North Carolina, and so are the financial and health costs borne by the people providing that care, according to the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP in a joint report. Advocates say new Medicaid work requirements could intensify those pressures unless the state takes deliberate steps to protect caregivers’ coverage.
Advocates urge safeguards for caregivers as new Medicaid work requirements start
The number of family caregivers is rising across North Carolina, and so are the financial and health costs borne by the people providing that care, according to the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP in a joint report. Advocates say new Medicaid work requirements could intensify those pressures unless the state takes deliberate steps to protect caregivers’ coverage.
Advocates urge safeguards for caregivers as new Medicaid work requirements start
The number of family caregivers is rising across North Carolina, and so are the financial and health costs borne by the people providing that care, according to the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP in a joint report. Advocates say new Medicaid work requirements could intensify those pressures unless the state takes deliberate steps to protect caregivers’ coverage.
NC lawmakers wrestle with unfunded mandates, US cuts
NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY North Carolina lawmakers are navigating rising service costs and the possibility of losing federal funding for SNAP if counties fail to miss new federal requirements. North Carolina could face hundreds of millions of dollars in new costs — or risk losing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program entirely — if counties fail to meet new federal requirements, state lawmakers were warned last week during a Joint Legislative Oversight Committee hearing in Raleigh.
NC lawmakers weight how to deal with unfunded mandates, cuts as feds overhaul SNAP
North Carolina could face hundreds of millions of dollars in new costs — or risk losing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program entirely — if counties fail to meet new federal requirements, state lawmakers were warned Tuesday during a Joint Legislative Oversight Committee hearing in Raleigh. The new requirements were included in the federal budget One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law by President Donald Trump in July.
NC lawmakers weigh how to deal with unfunded mandates, cuts as feds overhaul SNAP
North Carolina could face hundreds of millions of dollars in new costs — or risk losing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program entirely — if counties fail to meet new federal requirements, state lawmakers were warned Tuesday during a Joint Legislative Oversight Committee hearing in Raleigh. The new requirements were included in the federal budget One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law by President Donald Trump in July.
Stein restores Medicaid rates amid budget shortfall, urges legislature to act
Gov. Josh Stein put an end to North Carolina’s Medicaid brinkmanship Wednesday, restoring funding and abandoning efforts to reduce payments to health care providers brought about by the legislature’s falling hundreds of millions of dollars short of the state health and human services department’s request for the annual Medicaid budget.
Stein restores Medicaid rates amid budget shortfall, urges legislature to act
Gov. Josh Stein put an end to North Carolina’s Medicaid brinkmanship Wednesday, restoring funding and abandoning efforts to reduce payments to health care providers brought about by the legislature’s falling hundreds of millions of dollars short of the state health and human services department’s request for the annual Medicaid budget.
NC budget stalemate deepens strain on safety nets, health system, advo...
The cracks in North Carolina’s safety nets are widening under the compounding pressure of a months-long budget stalemate, and that’s putting the state’s most vulnerable residents at risk of falling through. That was the message delivered to Democratic members of the North Carolina state Senate last Wednesday.
Raleigh café builds community through shared meals
Since she was a child volunteering at soup kitchens and food pantries with her parents, Maggie Kane has carried a question: “Why was I on this side? Why am I so lucky?” The invisible line that separated those who served and those who received inspired her to create a space where no one has to stand on either side. “My work and life passion is working with folks who are experiencing homelessness. I just knew at an early age,” Kane said.
Raleigh café builds community through shared meals
This story is republished from our partners at North Carolina Health News. Since she was a child volunteering at soup kitchens and food pantries with her parents, Maggie Kane has carried a question: “Why was I on this side? Why am I so lucky?” The invisible line that separated those who served and those who received inspired her to create a space where no one has to stand on either side. “My work and life passion is working with folks who are experiencing homelessness.
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