In North Carolina, Medicaid is far more than a budgeting line item; it is the health-care lifeline for millions of families, children, older adults, and people with disabilities. Behind that lifeline, however, sits a computer system that has become a symbol of frustration, missed deadlines, and mounting costs. For years, state officials have been trying to modernize the technology that processes Medicaid claims, enrolls beneficiaries, and helps detect fraud and waste. Now, after a hidden audit resurfaced and explosive whistleblower allegations were unsealed in federal court, state lawmakers say they are determined to find out what went wrong. State Senator…

At first glance, this isn’t a story at all. It’s a page that didn’t quite load—a digital doorway bearing the name Johnson City Press, with its tagline “Local News, Weather and Sports,” and a loading screen that reads “View Page in Progress.” Along the way there’s a notification about an email address that couldn’t be verified, a quiet instruction that JavaScript must be enabled, and a progress bar that seems to be deciding whether to move. If you arrived here looking for a finished article, you might feel a little cheated. But if you slow down and look at what’s…