{"id":3607,"date":"2026-06-30T16:38:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T16:38:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3607"},"modified":"2026-06-30T16:38:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T16:38:20","slug":"why-is-healthcare-so-expensive-a-bipartisan-nc-group-will-tackle-rising-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3607","title":{"rendered":"Why is healthcare so expensive? A bipartisan NC group will tackle rising costs"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

A new bipartisan advisory board in North Carolina established by the Democratic governor will take a look at why healthcare is so expensive \u2014 and getting even more so.<\/p>\n

Read more NC budget draft gives Charlotte last chance to change I-77 toll vote before payback<\/a><\/p>\n

Gov. Josh Stein signed an executive order Tuesday that establishes the \u201cHealth Care Affordability Commission,\u201d which will be made up of healthcare experts from across the industry, including medical providers, hospitals, insurers, researchers, patients and advocates. It will also include lawmakers from both sides of the aisle.<\/p>\n

Before signing the order, Stein said he recently heard from a Johnston County doctor who told him about an elderly couple who both had chronic disease. They kept coming back to the emergency room month after month. Eventually, the doctor learned they were not able to afford the cost of medication to manage both of their chronic diseases at the same time, so they traded off whose week it was to buy medication. And that was despite both having worked all their life and having Medicare.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur healthcare system is failing,\u201d Stein said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow many North Carolinians are like this couple, facing impossible decisions every month?\u201d Stein said. \u201cHow many families are pushing back the medical bills that they can\u2019t afford, or wondering whether that essential procedure is truly essential? How many people have checked their bank account balance while waiting in a doctor\u2019s waiting room?\u201d<\/p>\n

Stein made the announcement at Advance Community Health in Raleigh, a community health center that serves patients regardless of their ability to pay or insurance status, alongside North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai and State Treasurer Brad Briner. Sangvai and Briner are co-chairs of the new commission.<\/p>\n

Briner, a Republican, oversees the State Health Plan, which covers hundreds of thousands of state employees and has faced rising costs, while Sangvai leads DHHS, which is tasked with administering Medicaid, the insurance program for low-income North Carolinians, and various health services across the state.<\/p>\n

Stein said he was creating the commission to tackle ever-rising healthcare costs and that it \u201cwill get to work quickly to align on a bold set of solutions.\u201d He said that would be done by relying on the expertise of the group and by looking at data, other states, and the unique factors impacting North Carolina. They\u2019ll look at how to improve competition, enhance price transparency, rein in rising drug costs, among other things.<\/p>\n

The United States spends far more per person on health care than other high-income countries, according to a 2026 analysis by<\/a> the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker. The U.S. spends $14,775 per capita, nearly double the average among peer countries is $7,860. A Commonwealth Fund analysis<\/a> also found that Americans are more likely than residents of peer nations to avoid care because of cost, and to face more preventable deaths. The analysis calls the U.S an outlier because it lacks universal health coverage \u2014 one of only two countries in a 20-nation study, alongside Mexico, that have not achieved it.<\/p>\n

The same analysis projected that recent federal cuts to Medicaid, which covers lower-income residents, and the expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act Marketplace subsidies could leave an additional 17 million Americans uninsured by 2034. About 27 million Americans, or about 8% of the population, are currently uninsured.<\/p>\n

A nationwide Forbes Advisor study<\/u><\/a> found that North Carolina is the most expensive state in the nation for healthcare.<\/p>\n

Read more Americans have $1.68 trillion in auto debt. How much do North Carolinians owe?<\/a><\/p>\n

In North Carolina, lawmakers recently passed a bill providing additional funding for Medicaid to keep the program running through the end of June. And a budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 was released on Tuesday. About $1 billion in Medicaid funding is included in it, according to news releases by Republican leaders. Preventing misuse and avoiding excess spending have also been a focus of Republican legislators; they included funding for 12 new positions within the NC Medicaid Office of Compliance and Program Integrity, which works to stop fraud, waste, and abuse.<\/p>\n

Briner said on Tuesday at the event that he wanted to \u201capplaud our Republican leaders in the legislature. They have shown the initiative in the budget, which is about to release, to keep health care affordable for our members.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said that budget includes a \u201csignificant increase in funding,\u201d or about $4 billion, for the State Health Plan. He said if they had not provided that funding, the premiums for those on the plan would have risen by a further $38 per member per month.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe commission is an opportunity to bring people together with a shared understanding and develop recommendations that can make a meaningful difference (for) our state,\u201d Sangvai said.<\/p>\n

Voting members of the commission are Briner and Sangvai, as well as several lawmakers involved in healthcare legislation: Sen. Gale Adcock, a Cary Democrat; Rep. Allen Buansi, a Chapel Hill Democrat; Sen. Benton Sawrey, a Clayton Republican; and Rep. Timothy Reeder, an Ayden Republican. Kristin Walker, director of the Office of State Budget and Management, will also serve as a voting member. There are also numerous advisory members.<\/p>\n

Asked about how there have been several study groups across the years and whether this one would have the ability to push back against interest groups, Sangvai said, \u201ceverybody\u2019s being impacted by this (costs). The hospitals are being impacted by it, providers are being impacted by it.\u201d<\/p>\n

What is different now is \u201cthe urgency. Historically, we\u2019ve been talking about double-digit premium increases over the course of three to five years, or what\u2019s going to happen a decade from now, we\u2019re starting to see real significant change as a result of premium increases, coverage loss, and so forth,\u201d Sangvai said.<\/p>\n

Reeder, who was present during the event on Tuesday, added that \u201cwe have to be optimistic that we will find a solution, even though many haven\u2019t before us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more How to help Venezuela from NC: Reputable fundraisers, local organizations<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published June 30, 2026 at 11:21 AM.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gov. Josh Stein ordered a bipartisan Health Care Affordability Commission in Raleigh to examine rising health care costs, Medicaid funding and transparency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3606,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy is healthcare so expensive? A bipartisan NC group will tackle rising costs - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=3607\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why is healthcare so expensive? 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