Writing a Prescription for Better Health Outcomes

Employer-sponsored health care is essential to attract and retain a talented workforce. Healthy employees and families are critical to a healthy workplace. Today, nearly half of North Carolinians receive health insurance through their employer.
While we consistently laud our CNBC ranking as a top state for business, we have not found the same success across health care metrics. Press Ganey ranks North Carolina second in the nation for patient experience and Leapfrog reports us as having the fourth-safest hospitals in the country. On the other hand, the Commonwealth Fund ranks North Carolina 33rd in the nation for health system performance and 40th for access and affordability. Leading in health care cost is not part of our state’s recipe to compete.
According to KFF, “Family premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose 7% [in 2024] to reach an average of $25,572 annually.” That was on the heels of a 7% rise in 2023.
“Employers are shelling out the equivalent of buying an economy car for every worker every year to pay for family coverage,” KFF President and CEO Drew Altman said. “In the tight labor market in recent years, they have not been able to continue offloading costs onto workers who are already struggling with health care bills.”
Our own polling validates those statistics with 86% of North Carolina employers saying health care benefits provided by their organization have increased in cost over the past year.
As home to RTP, leading research institutions, and some of the nation’s top medical systems and pharmaceutical manufacturers, North Carolina has every resource needed to drive change. But employers need options, as health care solutions are not one-size-fits-all.
Restoring Our Position as a Leader
Employer-sponsored healthcare in North Carolina is too important to be jeopardized by harmful regulations. Rigid mandates that create a one-size-fits-all system and tell employers what programs and benefits they can offer only lead to fewer choices and higher costs for businesses and employees. These government mandates add to the cost of employer-provided health insurance.
Businesses and the people they employ are the real payors to the health care system, and they want accessibility, predictability, and affordability in their health care.
Policy fights that pit different segments of the health care supply chain against one another create a volatility that is not good for the broad-based business community – and more importantly, it’s not good for North Carolina families and businesses.
Employers stand ready to work closely with the health care community and elected officials to achieve those goals while protecting benefits for our people. Our collaboration is critical to North Carolina’s ability to continue to attract and retain the top talent required for a strong economy and for the good of families, businesses, and communities across the state.
North Carolina is known around the world for its innovation in health care outcomes – how we pay for it should be no different.