Healthcare Cost and Helene Relief

While not yet quite at full throttle there was action at the state legislature this week, with two key issues front and center: the state House proposal for another $500M in funds to aid western NC victims of Hurricane Helene, and legislation to require any proposal to change healthcare regulations consider the price tag for consumers.

At the start of the week, Governor Josh Stein rolled out a $1B spending proposal for various Helene needs, saying he appreciated ‘what the General Assembly has done so far, but it’s time for us to step up.’

The legislature last year appropriated over $1B from state reserves for clean-up and recovery efforts in western NC, with indications that more was to come in 2025.

House leaders did in fact announce their additional relief spending plan on Tuesday with House Select Committee on Helene Recovery, chaired by Rep. John Bell, hearing from legislative staff on what’s contained in the various tranches of funding in the proposal with a promise of more specificity in the coming weeks.

The Senate also signaled that the chamber’s proposed Helene relief spending package is on the way as well.

It seems likely there will be some compromise disaster spending package developed and approved by the House and Senate within the next few months, to be followed by a proposed biennial state budget hopefully completed in advance of the July 1st start of state government’s fiscal year.

IIANC member Senator Jim Burgin presented before two different state Senate committees this week on legislation he’s sponsored to require the General Assembly to acknowledge the cost to consumers of any proposed health insurance mandates.

SB 24 requires that any legislation imposing a new coverage mandate for health insurance identify an existing mandate that would be repealed, and that funds sufficient be appropriated to pay for increased costs for mandates that apply to the State Employees Health Plan.

IIANC lobbyist Joe Stewart, who through a collaborative agreement also represents the NC Chapter of the National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals (NC-NCBIP), spoke in support of the legislation when it was heard in the Senate Health Care Committee.

Stewart reminded legislators that any increase in

healthcare costs not only impacts individual health insurance policyholders, but also consumers generally, as employers who provide healthcare as a benefit for their employees – 60% of North Carolinians get their health coverage through their employer – would have to raise prices on the goods and services they sell to cover the additional expense.

Or worse, he added, such increased employee healthcare costs could impact overall economic development within the state, as employers facing such cost increases might reduce their workforce here or even consider moving their company to another state.

A similar bill was also filed in the House, HB 46, as the two chambers are apparently heading toward conflicting positions on some key healthcare issues this session, including prior authorization by insurers of medical treatments and regulation of pharmacy benefit management (PBM) companies.

And Finally

The NC Rate Bureau this week filed with the NC Department of Insurance a proposed 22.6% average increase in auto insurance rates.

Insurance Commissioner Causey has 60 days to respond, and if he denies the request (which is likely), the matter will either go to a hearing or the two parties can settle on a lesser rate increase.

In the filing announcement, the Rate Bureau indicated that the vehicle repair cost and medical expense impact from distracted driving – estimated to be the cause of 1 out of every 5 vehicle crashes on North Carolina roads – is a contributing factor in the need for higher rates.

IIANC remains supportive of North Carolina joining with the over 30 other states and US territories that have a hands-free driving law on the books, prohibiting motorists from holding a mobile communication device in their hand while operating a motor vehicle.

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