Victories for the swamp

Published April 25, 2019

State Treasurer Dale Folwell got whacked by the Swamp. It turns out the State Employees Health Insurance Fund has been spending $3 billion a year, costs have been going up 7-9% a year, and the fund is billions of dollars in debt – so Folwell decided to cut spending by the state paying hospitals the same amount Medicare pays plus 80%. That one change would have saved taxpayers $258 million a year.

What happened? Lobbyists for hospitals rushed over to the State House and, in a blink, the House passed a bill to stop Folwell dead in his tracks.

And the Swamp wasn’t done.

Next, House legislators – led by Republican Greg Murphy – introduced a bill called The North Carolina Health Insurance for Working Families Act. What’s that? It’s government-run healthcare – which the Hospital Association says makes ‘common sense.’

How much will it cost? $4.7 billion.