N.C. policymakers recently learned that state government ended its last budget year in June with a revenue surplus of nearly $900 million. Meanwhile, Gov. Roy Cooper wants the state to borrow more money as it increases spending in the new budget year and beyond. Joseph Coletti, John Locke Foundation senior…
Uninsured small businesses in North Carolina could find another avenue toward getting health care via a bill on Gov. Roy Cooper’s desk. Senate Bill 86 would allow small businesses to band together under trade associations and bargain with health insurers as larger employers.
John Locke Foundation Chairman John Hood answers host Tom Campbell’s question about the State Health Plan pricing dispute pitting N.C. Treasurer Dale Folwell against hospitals. This exchange took place during the Aug. 16, 2019, edition of “NC SPIN.”…
As Medicaid expansion continues to hold Gov. Roy Cooper and the General Assembly in gridlock, a growing number of North Carolinians say they’d oppose expanding the health-insurance entitlement. A new Civitas Poll shows 57% of North Carolina voters favor Medicaid expansion.
The future of smokable hemp in North Carolina remains unsettled, nearly a month after lawmakers last took it up. Two Senate bills dealing with hemp are stuck in the House Rules Committee. One, Senate Bill 352, would effectively ban smokable hemp in December. Senate…
The courtroom fight over a government permit ignores a key fact important to health care consumers in North Carolina.
State employees are no longer in immediate danger of paying out-of-network costs for their health care, but they may confront higher premiums and higher taxes later. State Treasurer Dale Folwell’s Clear Pricing Project has folded, and its proposed reforms won’t touch hospitals. But the fiscal…
Small businesses struggling with health-care costs could gain new bargaining power with insurers, after a controversial bill passed the House, 82-32. Senate Bill 86, which passed Wednesday, Aug. 7, would broaden access to association health plans, allowing small businesses to band together when…
Hospitals have won. For now. State Treasurer Dale Folwell’s attempt to rope them into the Clear Pricing Project is scuttled. Under the new version of the State Health Plan, hospitals will remain in the status quo, under their previous Blue Cross Blue Shield contracts.
While the fighting over Medicaid and the state budget persists, Republicans’s effort to save rural hospitals with a state-funded loan program will move forward. Senate Bill 681 passed the House, 81-31, Wednesday, Aug. 7, and will return to the Senate for concurrence. Over…
