14-02-2025
How North Carolina Senate bill would bring down health care costs
RALEIGH, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — New legislation making its way through the General Assembly in Raleigh promises to bring down health care costs. But the bill also caps how much care the state can require insurers to cover.
Senate Bill 24 passed the higher chamber on Wednesday with a vote of 30-15. Three Democrats voted with the majority.
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SB 24 would cap the types of medical care providers have to cover at 58. The legislation has the backing of several associations, including the NC Chamber.
'We have some of the highest health care costs in the country across all the different spectrums that go into that,' said Gary Salamido, NC Chamber President and CEO. 'And so employers who are the ultimate payers of all the health care costs whether it be an insurance premium, whether it be into their own, have seen the costs continue to go up.'
Those opposed include Democratic Buncombe County Sen. Julie Mayfield. Mayfield was one of the 15 No votes on Wednesday.
'The impact of this would be again to sort of lock in place things as they are now and not give us the flexibility to make changes in the future, either to improve patient care or to bring costs down,' said Mayfield.
Mayfield argued choosing what is and isn't required to be covered turns into a game of picking winners and losers for healthcare.
'You would think that… and I would like to think that those groups could just get together and have that conversation,' she added. 'But apparently it takes this kind of threatening legislation to perhaps push that conversation forward.'
But proponents, like the Chamber, called the measure a common-sense approach to still provide North Carolinians with top-notch health care at a price employers can afford, and that employers can choose what coverage works for their employees.
'Employers and the groups that they engage with that cover their employees know exactly what their employees need,' said Salamido. 'Mandates, additional mandates, only drive up the cost.'
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