Michelle Crouch | North Carolina Health News, The Charlotte Ledger

Atrium and Novant won’t sell their debt to a charity that buys medical debt and forgives it, saying they already have charity care policies. A retired Atrium physician is on a quest to change that.

The new law was passed in the waning hours of the legislative session, but advocates worry it may go too far and hurt mental health patients.

As Charlotte leaders discuss a possible tax increase, Mecklenburg County hospitals are exempt from $23 million per year in property taxes, a Charlotte Ledger/N.C. Health News analysis shows. Hospitals say they provide millions in discounted medical care – but others say it’s time for big hospitals to pay up.

Health care systems including Novant now charge a fee for some doctor-physician message exchanges.