State should consider other health care providers when cutting costs
With good reason, North Carolina offers a competitive health insurance plan to its hundreds of thousands of employees. The state wants to attract and retain the best employees it can, and that’s good for all of us.
But competition works both ways. The N.C. General Assembly soon will look for ways to put $300 million into the State Health Plan program, a challenge in any year, but especially one in which state revenues may fall as much as $2 billion short of expenditures.
As lawmakers begin their hunt, they might consider looking at other health care coverage plans North Carolina provides insurance for 662,000 teachers, state employees, retirees and dependents. That’s a solid, nearly recession-proof customer base that plenty of insurance providers would love to serve.
The General Assembly probably wouldn’t make the $300 million expense go away entirely by considering other providers, but it could at least use the competition as a bargaining chip in these trying times.
There are other reasons to open the door to healthy competition. Part of the reason the state finds itself $300 million short on the State Health Plan is that lawmakers were caught off-guard last year. A plan that had projected a $58 million surplus turned into a $27 million deficit. If steps aren’t taken to correct the situation, the shortfall could increase to more than $500 million by next year.
All the more reason to look at alternatives, then closely monitor the plan once it has been shored up.
The state has to stay competitive to keep good employees. But it can’t turn to taxpayers every time it meets an increase in expenses.
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