North Carolina Senate Approves Bill to Increase Transparency in Healthcare Costs
TL/DR –
The North Carolina General Assembly is pushing for a bill aimed at disclosing the cost of state government health insurance mandates on employers and taxpayers, in an effort to tackle high healthcare costs. Senate Bill 24 is designed to improve transparency around healthcare costs and tighten regulations leading to higher premiums. The bill includes measures such as repealing existing health benefit mandates if new ones are introduced, and ensuring any new mandates apply to the state health plan.
North Carolina Addresses Rising Healthcare Costs with Senate Bill 24
The North Carolina General Assembly is addressing the state’s high healthcare costs with a new bill. Two Senate committees approved Senate Bill 24 on Wednesday, aimed at disclosing the cost of state government health insurance mandates on employers and taxpayers in North Carolina.
Sponsored by Sens. Jim Burgin, Amy Galey, and Benton Sawrey, the bill is a bid to combat escalating healthcare expenses. It proposes to enhance transparency over state healthcare mandate costs and tighten control on health insurance requirements that drive up premiums.
“Recent studies ranked North Carolina as the most expensive state for healthcare costs. This creates significant financial burdens, generating obstacles for some individuals or families to access care,” Burgin explained. “This bill aims to enlighten us to any additional costs that may cause higher premiums.”
The bill’s provisions include repealing existing health benefit mandates if new ones are introduced and extending new mandates to the state health plan. The state’s health plan suffered a $106 million loss in 2023-2024 and is projected to face a $484 million deficit by 2026. Since 2020, the state treasurer transferred $869 million from reserves to sustain the plan.
Sen. Kevin Corbin cited the Affordable Care Act’s impact as an instance of increased costs due to mandates. “When something is mandated, it increases costs. With the Affordable Care Act, we witnessed prices double rapidly,” said Corbin. He also emphasized the need to address the cultural aspect of healthcare reform, which includes personal responsibility for life choices.
Business representatives and healthcare professionals have expressed their support for the bill, underlining the need to control costs and enhance transparency. Some suggested publishing the amount used for public employees’ healthcare, as is done with state employee salaries.
Mark Coggins, representing the NC Chamber, thanked the legislators for focusing on reducing healthcare costs in North Carolina. He emphasized that employer-sponsored healthcare plays a crucial role in retaining a talented workforce, and businesses require predictability and affordability in the healthcare system.
The bill, having progressed favorably through the committees, now heads to the Committee on Rules and Operations of the Senate.
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