Editor’s Note: As 2024 comes to a close, Asheville Watchdog staffers take you back and inside their most memorable stories and news events of the year.
I was driving down I-26 on Jan. 11 when I got the call.
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services had a document I’d been hunting for months, and I would possess it within minutes.
The caller, a CMS employee, told me he had a letter from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services informing CMS of its investigation of Mission Hospital and its recommendation that the hospital be placed in immediate jeopardy, the most severe sanction it could face.
State and federal investigators had descended on the hospital in November and December 2023, interviewing nurses, doctors and administrators about the quality of care being provided to patients.
I knew the investigations were happening, but I didn’t know how severe their findings would be. I certainly didn’t expect a finding of immediate jeopardy, which CMS defines this way:
“Immediate Jeopardy (IJ) represents a situation in which entity noncompliance has placed the health and safety of recipients in its care at risk for serious injury, serious harm, serious impairment or death.”
Unless a hospital fixes the conditions that brought about the immediate jeopardy, it faces the loss of its Medicare and Medicaid funding, which can jeopardize its financial viability. As we have reported, the majority of patients in western North Carolina are on Medicare or Medicaid, or are uninsured.
I called my editors and we started an all-hands-on-deck session of calling sources, writing and editing.
Within a few hours of my receiving the call from CMS, we published our story, making Asheville Watchdog the first media outlet to break this major news.
“We have taken those results seriously, and there are no excuses for our patients receiving anything other than exceptional care,” Mission Health spokesperson Nancy Lindell said in the story. “This is not the standard of care we expect, nor that our patients deserve, and we will work diligently to improve.”
On Feb. 1, CMS made it official with its own letter to HCA North Carolina Division President Greg Lowe. The letter stated that the hospital had 23 days to issue a “plan of correction,” which would need to spell out how it planned to fix the conditions that brought about immediate jeopardy.
On Feb. 15, a scathing 384-page report from CMS detailing what caused the failures was released. Again, The Watchdog was the first to report the findings: 18 people had been harmed, including four who died between 2022 and 2023, all because of violations of federal standards of care. I described the report this way in my story:
It spotlights not only patient deaths and long delays in care but also a lack of available rooms, a lack of governing bodies “responsible for the conduct of the hospital,” and multiple leadership failures.
Following a Feb. 23 visit to Mission by state and federal inspectors, the immediate jeopardy finding was lifted. But a coalition of prominent physicians and patient advocates blasted Mission’s plan of correction, writing a letter to NCDHHS Chief Deputy Secretary Mark Benton in which they demanded to know why the plan didn’t require the hiring of more staff.
The Watchdog’s reporting on immediate jeopardy was just one component of our coverage of Mission Hospital in 2024. Throughout the year, we investigated numerous angles about the largest hospital in western North Carolina. Many of our stories have been grim and tough to report.
A wave of departures
Nurses and doctors have left the hospital, seeking more promising job opportunities. The Watchdog has investigated the departure of neurologists, urologists, cancer medication doctors, pharmacists, hospitalists, registered nurses and others. We’ve spoken to patients, chaplains, administrators and union leaders.
I’ve spoken with many health care workers who say they feel hamstrung by their circumstances. They say they’re unable to leave because they’ve established roots here yet at the same time don’t want to stay because they are burned out or are forced to make compromises, many related to staffing issues at the hospital.
In July, a broad coalition of physicians, patient advocates, clergy and Democratic state Sen. Julie Mayfield launched Reclaim Healthcare WNC. The initiative calls for HCA to relinquish Mission so it can become a nonprofit hospital, as it was before the Nashville company bought Mission Health in 2019 for $1.5 billion.
Ambulances line the emergency department bay at Mission Hospital days after Helene struck. // Provided photo
Our reporting shows that nurses and doctors are working hard through the tumult to give the best care possible to our community. They worked through enormous challenges following Tropical Storm Helene, with HCA supplying a high level of support.
Some still feel as if the company will continue to cut where it can.
Some of the last stories I wrote in 2024 revealed Mission’s plan to close the region’s only long term acute care hospital, Asheville Specialty Hospital, and to raze the St. Joseph’s Hospital campus, whose origins date back more than a century and which has been expensive for Mission to maintain.
About a year ago, I wrote a year-in-review piece about my investigation into the hospital’s emergency room procedures, which nurses said had endangered patients. The story included this statement about Mission:
Not everything is clear, but after two years of reporting, I believe that whatever is happening there, it’s seismic.
I didn’t realize how accurate that statement would be.
Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Andrew R. Jones is a Watchdog investigative reporter. Email arjones@avlwatchdog.org. The Watchdog’s local reporting during this crisis is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-05-01 08:16:00
(The Center Square) – Taxpayers in North Carolina will face an average tax increase of $2,382 if the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expires at the end of the year, says the National Taxpayers Union Foundation.
Results of analysis were released Thursday morning by the nonprofit organization billing itself a “nonpartisan research and educational affiliate of the National Taxpayers Union.” Its four state neighbors were similar, with South Carolina lower ($2,319) and higher averages in Virginia ($2,787), Georgia ($2,680) and Tennessee ($2,660).
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of eight years ago was a significant update to individual and business taxes in the federal tax code. According to the Tax Foundation, it was considered pro-growth reform with an estimate to reduce federal revenue by $1.47 trillion over a decade.
Should no action be taken before Jan. 1 and the act expire, the federal standard deduction would be halved; the federal child tax credit would decrease; higher federal tax brackets would return; the federal estate tax threshold will be lower; and some business tax benefits will be gone.
The foundation, in summarizing the impact on North Carolina business expensing, says the state conforms to Section 168(k). This means “only 60% expensing for business investments this year and less in future years. State policymakers could adopt 100% full expensing, particularly since the state conforms to the Section 163(j) limit on interest expense and the two provisions were meant to work together.”
The foundation says business net operation loss treatment policies in the state “are less generous than the federal government and impose compliance costs due to lack of synchronization with the federal code and are uncompetitive with most other states.”
The National Taxpayers Union Foundation also says lawmakers “should at least be conscious of any retroactive provisions when selecting their date of fixed conformity.” North Carolina is among 21 states conforming to the federal income tax base “only as of a certain date” rather than automatically matching federal tax code changes – meaning definitions, calculations or rules.
The foundation said nationally the average filer will see taxes raised $2,955. It estimates an increase for 62% of Americans. The biggest average increases by state are in Massachusetts ($4,848), Washington ($4,567) and Wyoming ($4,493) and the lowest are in West Virginia ($1,423), Mississippi ($1,570) and Kentucky ($1,715).
Individual wages, nationally, are expected to go down 0.5%, reducing economic growth by 1.1% over 10 years.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Right
The content primarily reports on the potential impact of the expiration of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, relying heavily on analysis from the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, which describes itself as a nonpartisan organization but is known to advocate for lower taxes and limited government intervention, positions typically aligned with center-right economic policies. The article uses neutral language in presenting facts and data and does not explicitly advocate for a particular political viewpoint; however, the emphasis on tax increases and business expensing challenges following the expiration suggests a subtle alignment with pro-tax-cut, business-friendly perspectives associated with center-right ideology. Thus, while the article largely reports rather than overtly promotes an ideological stance, the framing and source choice reflect a center-right leaning.
www.thecentersquare.com – By David Beasley | The Center Square contributor – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-30 21:25:00
(The Center Square) – Authorization of sports agents to sign North Carolina’s collegiate athletes for “name, image, and likeness” contracts used in product endorsements is in legislation approved Wednesday by a committee of the state Senate.
Authorize NIL Agency Contracts, known also as Senate Bill 229, is headed to the Rules Committee after gaining favor in the Judiciary Committee. It would likely next get a full floor vote.
Last year the NCAA approved NIL contracts for players.
Sen. Amy S. Galey, R-Alamance
NCLeg.gov
“Athletes can benefit from NIL by endorsing products, signing sponsorship deals, engaging in commercial opportunities and monetizing their social media presence, among other avenues,” the NCAA says on its website. “The NCAA fully supports these opportunities for student-athletes across all three divisions.”
SB229 spells out the information that the agent’s contract with the athlete must include, and requires a warning to the athlete that they could lose their eligibility if they do not notify the school’s athletic director within 72 hours of signing the contract.
“Consult with your institution of higher education prior to entering into any NIL contract,” the says the warning that would be required by the legislation. “Entering into an NIL contract that conflicts with state law or your institution’s policies may have negative consequences such as loss of athletic eligibility. You may cancel this NIL agency contract with 14 days after signing it.”
The legislation also exempts the NIL contracts from being disclosed under the state’s Open Records Act when public universities review them. The state’s two ACC members from the UNC System, Carolina and N.C. State, requested the exemption.
“They are concerned about disclosure of the student-athlete contracts when private universities don’t have to disclose the student-athlete contracts,” Sen. Amy Galey, R-Alamance, told the committee. “I feel very strongly that a state university should not be put at a disadvantage at recruitment or in program management because they have disclosure requirements through state law.”
Duke and Wake Forest are the other ACC members, each a private institution.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
The article primarily reports on the legislative development regarding NIL (name, image, and likeness) contracts for collegiate athletes in North Carolina. It presents facts about the bill, committee actions, and includes statements from a state senator without using loaded or emotionally charged language. The piece neutrally covers the issue by explaining both the bill’s purpose and the concerns it addresses, such as eligibility warnings and disclosure exemptions. Overall, the article maintains a factual and informative tone without advocating for or against the legislation, reflecting a centrist, unbiased approach.
SUMMARY: Donald van der Vaart, a former North Carolina environmental secretary and climate skeptic, has been appointed to the North Carolina Utilities Commission by Republican Treasurer Brad Briner. Van der Vaart, who previously supported offshore drilling and fracking, would oversee the state’s transition to renewable energy while regulating utility services. His appointment, which requires approval from the state House and Senate, has drawn opposition from environmental groups. Critics argue that his views contradict clean energy progress. The appointment follows a controversial bill passed by the legislature, granting the treasurer appointment power to the commission.
