NC lawmakers consider bills to lower healthcare costs
RALEIGH, N.C. () – Lawmakers in both chambers and on both sides of the aisle are pushing through measures to reform North Carolina's healthcare system.
Senate Bill 316 aims to lower healthcare costs and increase transparency in billing.
Key features of the measure include requiring hospitals to file reports quarterly, instead of annually, to the Department of Health and Human Services on cost data, outlawing facility fees and giving the State Auditor authority to examine billing transparency.
State Senator Amy Galey (R-Alamance) said it's a step in curtailing 'unacceptably high healthcare costs.'
'Part Three is greater fairness in billing and collections practices; it requires an itemized list to any patient before referring an unpaid bill to a collection agency,' Galey said in a committee hearing last week.
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SB 316 also looks to establish a timeline for insurers to conduct prior authorizations, similar to House Bill 434.
place North Carolina among the Top 10 Worst States for Health Care in 2025. Researchers said they factored in quality, cost and accessibility through 44 metrics.
'Basically, patients are not really getting the most bang for their buck,' said WalletHub writer Chip Lupo. 'We're talking about quality: quality of public hospital systems, number of hospital beds per capita, number of physicians, nurse practitioners, physicians, even dentists. Even so far down is available at urgent care centers, convenient care clinics, rural health clinics. Now that's a key point here in North Carolina.'
Lupo said he recognized a 'regional pattern' tied to socioeconomic factors as several Southern states ranked near the bottom of the list.
'You go east of I-95 where I'm from. Still a lot a lot of farming, a lot of low income. So while and you would think that with Duke University and North Carolina, all these great medical centers, the health care outcome would be a little bit more favorable, North Carolina. But it's simply not the case.'
According to Lupo, despite high costs and low access in some areas, patient outcomes in North Carolina are trending in a positive direction.
Forbes for healthcare, citing the highest average premium for residents with 'plus-one' health insurance. The study found that Hawaii had the most affordable options.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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