State Health Plan holds line on premiums for 2019

Premiums for individual and family coverage under the State Health Plan will not increase in 2019, State Treasurer Dale Folwell said Wednesday.

Posted 5:09 p.m. Jul 18, 2018 — Updated 5:09 p.m. Jul 18, 2018

RALEIGH, N.C. — Premiums for individual and family coverage under the State Health Plan will not increase in 2019, State Treasurer Dale Folwell said Wednesday.

Plan officials were able to put $55 million in savings from a renegotiated contract with UnitedHealthcare toward holding the line on overall premiums, Folwell said. The UnitedHealthcare contract provides Medicare-eligible retirees with Group Medicare Advantage Plans.

"This is the perfect example of using our 'largeness' to hold down costs for teachers, law enforcement and other hard-working state and local employees," he said in a statement. "We were able to do this because we’ve been signing our contracts and not theirs."

The State Health Plan covers more than 727,000 teachers, state employees, retirees and their dependents.

The premium freeze comes as the Congressional Budget Office predicts that premiums on Affordable Care Act health plans will go up by up to 15 percent next year, Folwell said.

"This action is great news for state employees, retirees and their families," Robert Broome, executive director of the State Employees Association of North Carolina, said in a statement. "SEANC appreciates the willingness of Treasurer Folwell and the members of the State Health Plan to work with us."

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