Healthcare News & Stories

Medicare Supplement (Medigap) plans help fill the gaps left by Original Medicare—covering deductibles, coinsurance, and copays that could otherwise add up quickly. Here's what you need to know about Medigap coverage in 2025-2026.

Navigating emergency room, urgent care, or primary care decisions during health crises involves balancing medical urgency, costs, and access. Learn when to seek immediate care and when to wait, with practical frameworks for making informed healthcare choices.

Resistance training boosts brain health, enhancing cognitive function, strengthening neural connections, and slowing brain shrinkage in older adults. Accessible at home or with a trainer, it pairs well with nutrition coaching. Blue Cross NC supports wellness through fitness programs, health coaching, and resources, empowering members to improve body and mind.

At Health Plans of North Carolina, we believe that health is influenced by more than doctor visits. Access to basic needs—like food, housing, transportation, and safety—plays a vital role in well-being. We want to highlight a powerful free tool available to everyone in our community: the Resource Navigator from Blue Cross NC.
The Resource Navigator is an easy-to-use online platform that connects individuals and families to free or reduced-cost services across North Carolina. Whether you're facing financial hardship or housing instability or need help finding local support for child care, utilities, or behavioral health, the Resource Navigator makes it simple to find trusted, nearby assistance.
You don’t need to be a Blue Cross NC member to use it—anyone in North Carolina can access this tool. Just enter your ZIP code and select the type of help you seek. The platform will display a tailored list of services in your area, along with descriptions, contact details, and eligibility information.

Blue Cross NC members can join FitOn Health for access to over 13,000 gyms and studios.

It’s curious how well-versed we are in the physical benefits of hiking. The activity can:
Reduce the risk of heart disease
Reduce your risk of hypertension, or high blood pressure. (Hiking regularly has been shown to lower blood pressure by 4 to 10 points.)

In a tizzy over what to do for mom for Mother’s Day? It’s simple, really: she just wants to be with the family. And what better family activity is there, especially in spring, than taking a hike together!
Here are five hikes across the state that are especially good for a Mother’s Day outing. Included are the miles of trail available and a link for additional information.
1. Flower Hill Nature Preserve, Johnston County

Growing up I saw men in my family struggle with real emotions and avoid most deep conversations. I partly blame this on my Italian heritage, where men are expected to work hard, avoid feelings and push through pain. In my family, a man’s role was to provide and protect the family at all costs. If you showed any sign of weakness, that meant you were not in control.
As a kid I straddled two worlds: one trying to be the man that I thought was expected of me, and the other wanting to be able to express my feelings. I was an emotional kid, and I know it was hard for my dad to relate to me.
My emotions were all over the place:

We know racism and discrimination lead to health disparities and impact the health and safety of our employees, members and communities. Health inequity impacts all North Carolinians. North Carolina is consistently in the lower percentile of state health rankings. *Data shows our state’s health system ranked #36 of 50 states and #46 of 50 states for disparities. Think about that – #46 of 50 states. To ensure healthy communities for generations to come, we must work to transition from the bottom quartile to the top quartile.
At Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC), we cannot fulfill our mission to improve the health and well-being of our customers and communities without explicitly addressing disparities and health inequities. While we’ve laid groundwork as a company on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts for more than a decade, our work does not stop.
Like many companies, this summer we released a message standing against racism. We commissioned an internal task force to think about what Blue Cross NC should and can be doing for:

It’s that time of year; flu season is upon us. That means flu shots.
Maybe you’re ready to go and are rushing to Target because they’re offering discounts to shoppers who get the flu shot as an incentive. Great! You know the importance of getting the flu shot, not just for yourself but for your loved ones, too.
But maybe you’re not so ready. Maybe you’ve heard something that’s swayed your opinion this year. Something that scared you or made you think twice. We get it. Every year rumors circulate about getting vaccinated, from the outlandish to the plausible. And it’s hard to know what’s true and what’s not, especially in this age of lightning fast communications.

“It’s a hundred degrees in the shade.”
It’s an old adage offered not literally, necessarily, but simply to convey that its one hot day. Lately, it’s been less adage than reality.
When the temperature stays this hot for this long, it’s hard to think about getting out for a hike. Unless you know where to go.