The North Carolina General Assembly is making strides to address the state’s high healthcare costs, with two Senate committees approving a bill on Wednesday that would disclose the cost of state government health insurance mandates on North Carolina employers and taxpayers.
Senate Bill 24 aims to tackle rising healthcare expenses by improving transparency around the cost of state healthcare mandates and tightening regulations on government-mandated health insurance requirements that lead to higher premiums.
Both the Senate Committee on Health Care and the Senate Committee on Pensions and Retirement and Aging discussed the legislation on Wednesday, which has also been introduced in the House. Sponsors of the bill are Sens. Jim Burgin, R-Harnett; Amy Galey, R-Alamance; and Benton Sawrey, R-Johnston.
“You may know that recent studies ranked North Carolina 50th out of all 50 states for health care costs. This is unacceptable, and it creates significant financial burdens on the constituents of our state, creating barriers to access to care for some individuals or families,” said Burgin. “We understand the importance of addressing these costs, and this bill seeks to ensure that we are fully aware of any additional costs that may ultimately result in higher premiums.”
The bill proposes measures such as mandating the repeal of existing health benefit mandates if new ones are introduced and ensuring that any new mandates apply to the state health plan. The state health plan had a $106 million loss in 2023-2024 and is projected to have a $484 million deficit by 2026. Since 2020, the state treasurer has had to transfer $869 million from reserves to keep the plan afloat.
Legislators pointed to the impacts of the Affordable Care Act as an example of mandates increasing costs.
“I think we all understand that when something is mandated, it increases costs,” said Sen. Kevin Corbin, R-Macon. “And we saw that happen with the Affordable Care Act, we saw prices essentially double within a very short period of time; that folks were getting tax credits for that to make up for that. But the point is, the actual cost of health insurance goes up every time you mandate it.”
A lawmaker also emphasized the need to address the cultural aspect of healthcare reform, which includes personal responsibility for life choices and the burden placed on responsible individuals who end up subsidizing others’ decisions.
Business representatives and healthcare professionals expressed their support for the bill, highlighting the importance of controlling costs and increasing transparency. Some offered up suggestions like publishing dollars used for public employees’ healthcare, just like state employee salaries.
“Thank you for your attention and focus on reducing healthcare costs in North Carolina,” said Mark Coggins on behalf of the NC Chamber. He stressed that employer-sponsored healthcare is critical to retaining a talented workforce, and businesses need predictability and affordability in the healthcare system.
With SB 24 progressing favorably through the committees, it will now head to the Committee on Rules and Operations of the Senate.