(The Center Square) – North Carolina state employees on Friday pushed back against proposed increases in their health care premiums, saying affordable insurance helps compensate for lower salaries paid to public employees.
The state insurance plan is projected to have a $500 million shortfall in 2026, State Treasurer Briner said.
Under one proposal to cut the deficit, employee premiums will likely be increased from the current $300 a year to around $550 a year, Briner said.
The average private company in North Carolina charges employees nearly $1,700 a year, Briner said.
But state employees speaking before the health care plan board of trustees Friday pointed out that private sector jobs also have higher salaries than most public sector positions. State workers are willing to accept lower pay in exchange for good health insurance and pensions, they said.
The employees pleaded with the board members to refrain from premium increases or higher deductibles or copayments.
Alexandria Fox, a licensed clinical social worker at Central Regional Hospital, said state hospitals are facing “an existential threat” in finding enough nurses.
“Staffing shortages have resulted from a non-competitive compensation package and unsafe working conditions,” she told the trustees.
The state has been forced to hire contract nurses to fill in the gaps, Fox said.
“We can’t afford any increase to our premiums or deductibles or cuts to services,” she said. “We provide face to face care for you and your families, your communities.”
Although the proposed premium increase would be only about $20 a month, “That’s money that many of our coworkers just don’t have,” Fox said.
When employees can’t afford the high deductibles, “That’s not really health insurance,” Fox added. “That’s like a policy that would possibly keep you from going bankrupt were you to get hit by a car.”
The board did not make a decision Friday on the premium increases.
But the state health plan needs changes as its deficits continue to increase, Briner said in a news release.
“The Plan has been spending more than it has been bringing in and it’s out of cash reserves to help bridge the financial gap,” the news release said.
Friday’s meeting was designed to “start a conversation” on possible solutions with a possible vote later in the year, Briner said Friday.
