It’s three months late, but today is the day for the long-awaited North Carolina state budget to become law.

Dawn Vaughan here, The News & Observer’s Capitol bureau chief and host of Under the Dome. Along with the budget comes Medicaid expansion. So our guest for this week’s episode of the Under the Dome podcast for Oct. 2, 2023, is the man leading the major health care change.

I talked with N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kody Kinsley in his office in the Adams Building on the DHHS campus at Dix Park last week. Earlier that day he joined Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper to announce Medicaid expansion would launch Dec. 1. He also got his COVID-19 and flu vaccinations that day.

After the break, I’m joined by our Washington correspondent, Danielle Battaglia. She shares the latest on the federal government shutdown and the Senate dress code. And stay tuned for our picks for Headliner of the Week.

Host: Dawn Vaughan

Guest: Kody Kinsley, Danielle Battaglia

Executive Producer: Laura Brache

Video shot and edited by: Kevin Keister

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