As the legislature continues
debate on who should pay $11 in monthly health insurance premiums, it is worth
putting North Carolina’s health plan for state employees into a broader
perspective.

Every state has taken steps
in the last five years to find savings due to the staggering costs associated
with coving state employees and their families.

Per a 2009 report, North Carolina
was one of only 14 states that still covered 100 percent of the states employee’s
monthly premium for a basic or "standard" health plan, and one of only seven
states that covered 100 percent of the monthly premiums for employees families
enrolled in the "defined standard" plan.

The current greatest trend is for states to begin sharing costs with employees in some form. This
includes higher copays, higher deductibles, smaller networks, behavior
incentives, and other steps.

With nearly one-third of
state employee plans reporting a $500 or higher deductible, it is a question
how long this trend can continue before states move employees to
high-deductible policies that save money now and limit future liabilities to
cover retirees. ObamaCare’s hoops could also make it more worthwhile for the
state to drop insurance altogether and increase employees’ salary.

Politics further complicates
the debate here. Although the plan originally was favored by Gov. Perdue, her
recent veto of the State Health Plan (S323) has led to contention in the NC General Assembly
both between and within parties.