NC News Sept. 21, 2026

Medicaid Work Requirements Coming in 2027

Starting Jan. 1, 2027, most North Carolina adults aged 19 to 64 will have to work, study, or volunteer at least 80 hours a month to keep their Medicaid coverage.

Enrollees can also satisfy the rule by earning at least $580 a month before taxes, roughly 80 hours at the federal minimum wage. Those who don’t meet it or don’t qualify for an exemption could lose benefits.

Exemptions cover a long list, including parents of children under 14, pregnant women, people with disabilities, veterans rated fully disabled, and enrollees in substance-abuse treatment.

The changes flow from H.R. 1, the federal budget law President Trump signed in July 2025. Democrats in about half the states have sued over the work rules.

North Carolina expanded Medicaid in 2023, and nearly 735,000 residents have enrolled since then. Six-month renewals and shorter retroactive coverage also take effect in 2027.

NC Ends Teen Driving Eligibility Certificate

North Carolina teens seeking a first-time Level 1 Limited Learner Permit will no longer need a Driving Eligibility Certificate starting Oct. 1, 2026. The change, approved by the General Assembly, eliminates the longstanding school form that verified enrollment and academic progress for drivers under 18.

Applicants must still complete an approved driver education course and present the official Driver Education Certificate at the Division of Motor Vehicles.

The update applies only to initial permit applications and simplifies the process for high school and home-school students.

Families with teen drivers should note that the streamlined requirements take effect alongside other DMV updates. Officials advise checking NCDMV resources for full details before applying.

Petition Presses UNC on COVID Records

A UNC-Chapel Hill alum and an author have launched a website, CarolinaFlu.org, pressing the university to open an independent investigation into its coronavirus research and the origins of COVID-19.

George Howard, a UNC graduate and former U.S. Senate staffer, and author James Haslam are circulating an open letter to Chancellor Lee Roberts, asking him to appoint an independent panel with no UNC ties and to release withheld records.

The dispute centers on the coronavirus work of UNC professor Ralph Baric. The university has released more than 130,000 pages to the group U.S. Right to Know but withheld about 5,200, most shielded by a state research exemption.

In January, the state Court of Appeals ruled the records were protected, and in June the state Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal. Baric has denied that his research was gain-of-function work or tied to the creation of COVID-19.