Senate Bill 24 passed the North Carolina Senate late Wednesday afternoon by a bipartisan vote of 31-14.
The legislation, titled “Government Mandates Increase Healthcare Costs,” is the General Assembly’s first effort this session to address the state’s healthcare cost crisis.
North Carolina is the most expensive state for healthcare in the country.
Workers pay close to $4,800 a year to get employer sponsored insurance for them and their spouse. That jumps to more than $7,180 a year if you want to insure your kids too.
A big reason for that are government healthcare mandates that force families to pay for insurance coverage they do not want, need, or use.
North Carolina has more than 50 government healthcare mandates on the books.
Importantly, Senate Bill 24 does not seek to get rid of any mandates. Rather, it requires that if any new mandates are passed, one must be repealed in order to help offset the cost.
“I have sent everyone in this chamber a list of the 58 government health insurance mandates,” said Senate Health Chair Jim Burgin during debate on the bill. “So if you're considering filing a bill to create a new one, please refer to this list and find one that you would suggest that we eliminate.”
The bill faced some opposition from a fraction of senators who sought to amend the bill into a study committee. Notably, the proposed committee included mandatory representation from the pharmaceutical industry, big hospital systems, and pharmacies. It did not include any mandatory representation from the business community or healthcare payers.
“Most of the times when we do a study, we already know what we’re studying and already know what the problem is,” Burgin said. “I feel like we don’t need to do any more studies. We need to be taking action.”
The amendment did not pass.
“Over the years that I've been state director representing independent business owners, the one of the top three issues that we have dealt with is the cost of health insurance,” stated Greg Thompson from the North Carolina NFIB in support of the legislation. “One thing that we've got to remember is that the small employers want to provide the insurance and it's something that is difficult to do and high cost.”
Senate Bill 24 will help contain those costs so businesses, workers and their employers are able to access more affordable health insurance.
By passing this bill right out of the gate, the Senate has set the tone for the session – healthcare is too expensive and they are laser focused on doing something about it.
The legislation now goes to the House where a companion bill, HB46, has already been introduced.
The Affordable Healthcare Coalition of NC is scoring SB24 and HB46. Actions related to these bills will be factored into a member's Affordable Healthcare Scorecard grade at the close of the legislative session.
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