Pardon me if I'm skeptical of Treasurer Folwell's motives in the current State Health Plan debate

There’s been a great deal of heat but not a lot of light in recent weeks surrounding state Treasurer Dale Folwell’s “Clear Pricing Project” for the State Health Plan (SHP) – an initiative that has led physicians and hospitals to leave the plan in droves.

Here are some important truths about the issue that have not been widely reported – much less understood by many of the state employees whose lives stand to be disrupted.

First, the key date for state employees wondering about the standoff between Folwell and providers is not January 1, 2020, when the new plan begins; it is October 1, 2019 when open enrollment begins. Folwell must clearly and definitively communicate what health costs will look like for state employees, and how his plan will supposedly save them $65 million annually by October 1.

Second, while Folwell says SHP has $34.4 billion in unfunded liabilities, this number assumes the total cost if all current employees retire at once, plus the cost of current retirees. The much more relevant figure is the annual SHP funding needed vs. actual funding. For FY 2017, the State Controller’s Annual Financial Report showed the SHP annual shortfall at around $390 million.

Read more: http://www.ncpolicywatch.com/2019/08/01/pardon-me-if-im-skeptical-of-treasurer-folwells-motives-in-the-current-state-health-plan-debate/