Appearances
A go-to source on health policy and leadership
Videos
Kinsley appeared on “CBS Mornings” to talk about North Carolina’s bipartisan Medicaid expansion, highlighting how cross-aisle trust turned years of stalemate into coverage for more than 600,000 residents. He stresses that expansion is about practical results and that business and rural leaders helped build the coalition to make it happen.
Kinsley spoke with CBS 17 about his tenure at NCDHHS, pointing to Medicaid expansion and the need to sustain investments in behavioral health — especially in rural communities. He argues that expanding coverage is only the starting point; North Carolina must keep funding the workforce, crisis services and community-based care so people can actually get treatment close to home.
Kinsley sat down with youth advocate Gracie Parker, founder of Why Us Kids, to discuss child and adolescent mental health and the value of elevating youth voices in shaping services. He underscores meeting families where they are, making help easier to find and use, and supporting community-based care that actually reaches kids.
Profile
Kinsley was profiled in The Assembly as a bridge-builder whose work with Republican lawmakers helped deliver Medicaid expansion to roughly 600,000 North Carolinians and major behavioral health investments. The story traces how he leveraged trust with GOP leaders and hospital and business groups to move a long-stalled policy, shaped by his own experience growing up uninsured.
Medicaid expansion
Axios profiled Kinsley as “North Carolina Republicans’ favorite Democrat,” crediting his low-key, relationship-driven style with helping convert skeptics and land Medicaid expansion for up to 600,000 residents. The piece traces how Kinsley spent months in early-morning and late-night talks with GOP lawmakers, hospital leaders and business groups to keep a bipartisan deal on track.
Investments in behavioral health
Carolina Public Press highlighted North Carolina’s “once in a lifetime” investment in mental health, reporting how lawmakers and DHHS worked together — with Kinsley in a central role — to channel Medicaid expansion funds and other dollars into access, crisis care and workforce pay. The budget directs hundreds of millions toward behavioral health: mobile crisis and respite facilities, a non-law-enforcement transport pilot, primary care integration supports like NC-PAL and collaborative care, pay raises and bonuses to ease workforce shortages, rural loan-repayment and telehealth grants, foster-care system reforms and community diversion programs.
“Behavioral health has been thought of as a specialty-level service. It’s not. It’s primary care. Everybody needs access to it.”
Medical debt relief
KFF Health News detailed how North Carolina tied new Medicaid dollars to hospital debt relief, securing federal approval and commitments from all 99 hospitals to wipe out billions in patient debt and adopt stronger financial-aid protections. Led by Kinsley, the state leveraged “state-directed payments” to require uniform charity-care standards and broaden discounts — a plan projected to erase about $4 billion in hospital debt for nearly 2 million residents.
Blood donation
WFAE reported that Kinsley planned to donate blood under new FDA rules that let gay and bisexual men give based on individual risk rather than blanket deferrals. Kinsley, who co-signed a multistate letter urging the change, framed the policy shift as science-driven and urged others to donate.
Healthy Opportunities Pilots
Manatt Health hosted a webinar on North Carolina’s Healthy Opportunities Pilots, featuring Kinsley in a fireside chat with state, plan and community leaders about early results and what’s next. HOP, launched in 2022 to address nonmedical, health-related needs for qualifying Medicaid enrollees, has interim findings showing reduced avoidable utilization and lower total cost of care.
Medicaid coverage for weight loss drugs
The New York Times’ Upshot reported that North Carolina Medicaid began covering GLP-1 obesity drugs like Wegovy in August 2024 while the State Health Plan for employees ended coverage earlier over costs, a split decision that underscores access-versus-affordability trade-offs. Kinsley framed Medicaid coverage as a matter of “baseline justice” for residents disproportionately affected by obesity. Medicaid’s statutory rebates and cost-sharing with the federal government help the state afford coverage even as high list prices and huge potential demand drive tough choices elsewhere.
KFF Health News reported that North Carolina Medicaid began covering GLP-1 obesity drugs for weight loss in August 2024. Kinsley said Medicaid’s rebates and long-term savings justify the decision. He argues the program can lower downstream costs because Medicaid is the primary payer for long-term care.
“We’re trying to put our dollars where they will lower costs in the long run.”
Rural Health
Kinsley wrote an article for State Health and Value Strategies on the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program, outlining how states can turn short-term dollars into lasting gains for access, outcomes and fiscal sustainability. He argues decision-makers should engage rural stakeholders early, invest in trusted local workforces and reimagined hospital networks, tie dollars to service delivery and clear outcome metrics, and build payment models that endure beyond the program’s five years.
Podcasts
Tradeoffs
Kinsley sat down with the “Tradeoffs” podcast to discuss the “daunting” rollout states face as they implement Republicans’ “One Big Beautiful Bill,” citing compressed timelines, legal uncertainty, new work requirements and hard budget trade-offs. He called the bill the most sweeping change to health care that we have seen.
The Policy Stack
On Innovaccer’s “Policy Stack” podcast, Kinsley shared lessons on making policy work in practice, stressing implementation, smart automation and bipartisan trust. He argues that execution matters most: start with real-world barriers, automate where possible and build early trust with stakeholders so reforms endure.
“Build relationships before you need them.”
Bright Spots in Healthcare
Kinsley joined the “Bright Spots in Healthcare” podcast to discuss how North Carolina expanded Medicaid and improved the mental health system, with a focus on families and children. He outlined practical levers for access and benefit design — peer support programs, 988/crisis lines, and data systems to track bed availability — and emphasized building preventive, Medicaid-backed infrastructure that addresses social determinants of health.
Tying It Together with Tim Boyum
Kinsley joined Spectrum News’ “Tying It Together with Tim Boyum” to talk about updating blood-donation rules for gay and bisexual men, moving Medicaid expansion into place quickly, and what’s next for North Carolina’s health system. Kinsley stressed science-based policy and fast execution — modernizing donation rules and accelerating coverage so residents can use benefits without delay.
Quality Matters: A Podcast by NCQA
NCQA featured Kinsley on its podcast to discuss North Carolina’s Medicaid expansion and a near $1 billion push to strengthen behavioral health, including bipartisan strategies and practical fixes like staffing the 988 crisis line. Kinsley tied policy to lived experience, outlining how coverage expansion and targeted investments aim to improve access and affordability, integrate health and justice systems, and support families and children.