The start of the 2006 session of the North Carolina General Assembly is less than a month away, which means the numerous study committees that have been meeting since the Legislature adjourned last September are wrapping up their work and making recommendations for possible legislation.
During the last seven months, legislators have focused their efforts on ways to improve education, health care, transportation, mental health, crime control, ethics and campaign finance laws, eminent domain powers, homeland security and emergency preparedness, and numerous other issues.
The House Select Committee on Health Care held its final meeting on Tuesday, April 11 and made numerous recommendations for legislation, which will be introduced and hopefully passed during the short session.
Numerous studies, statistics and news reports have shown us that too many North Carolinians do not have access to quality health care, which is impacting not only their lives and financial well being, but it is greatly affecting the lives of everyone. We have a health care crisis that our employees, every family, and every business across North Carolina face each and every day — and we must do something about it once and for all.
The House Select Committee on Health Care has been studying issues such as the rising cost of health care; access and affordability of health care in communities across the state; the rising number of uninsured and underinsured North Carolinians; accountability and patient safety; North Carolina’s State Health Plan; and the state’s Medicaid program and its increasing cost on our state budget.
The Committee recently announced 16 wide-ranging solutions to make health care more affordable, accessible and safe in North Carolina, including a cap on Medicaid costs for counties and incentives to help small businesses offer health insurance to employees.
House and health care industry members said committee recommendations to help expand employee insurance coverage within private industry may have the best chance to pass during the upcoming session. Of the 1.3 million uninsured people in North Carolina in 2004, nearly three-quarters are in families with at least one full-time worker, according to the N.C. Institute of Medicine.
One recommendation announced on Tuesday, creating a tax credit for small businesses that provide health insurance for their workers, already passed the House last year as part of a bill that would raise the minimum wage by 85 cents per hour — and we will continue to put pressure on the Senate to pass this legislation as quickly as possible.
The committee also recommended the creation of a high-risk pool so thousands of medically uninsurable people could buy medical coverage. The Department of Insurance is also behind administrative changes designed to provide incentives for self-employed workers to insure themselves or to reduce premium rates.
Legislators and various groups supported the idea of offering $65 million in assistance to counties that have seen their Medicaid expenses increase dramatically in recent years. (Medicaid, the government health insurance program for the disabled, poor and elderly, is funded with federal, state and county money.) Committee members recommended legislation that would cap the counties’ share of Medicaid expenses at this year’s level, with the state paying $30.4 million to make up the difference for next year. Another $34.6 million would be allocated with a preference for counties with high populations of Medicaid recipients. (To view a breakdown of Medicaid assistance by county, go to: NCACC). Medicaid currently accounts for nearly 15 percent of North Carolina’s $17.2 billion annual budget, and the escalating costs at the county level are consuming local budgets and keeping many from adequately funding their school facility needs.
Other recommendations include:
* The creation of Healthy North Carolina Program, which would offer affordable health insurance to North Carolina small employers and working individuals, similar to the Healthy New York model.
* Statewide Stroke Care System, which would provide for the identification of primary stroke centers, to disseminate information to the general public and emergency care providers about the location of primary stroke centers, and to facilitate appropriate stroke centers.
* Small Employer Group Health Coverage
* Increase authority of the North Carolina Medical Board
* Increase funding for the Statewide Program on Infection Control and Epidemiology
* Establishing the Nursing Faculty Fellows Program and support for allied health and nursing programs
* Support for the North Carolina Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) with regard to training mental health professionals
As I have said many times before, I hope you will continue to let me know how you feel about the issues that were debated by the North Carolina Legislature and the challenges you and your family are facing each day. By working together, we can make Northampton, Vance and Warren counties and all regions of North Carolina a better place to live, work and raise a family.