State Health Plan

State agencies are appealing to the state Supreme Court for a third time to keep from covering the entire health care costs for retirees promised years ago.

When it started the year, the plan was deep in a fiscal hole, now this year’s hole has been filled. But plan leaders anticipate another year of challenges.

As state Treasurer Brad Briner looks to address what could be a billion-dollar deficit, he says part of the puzzle will be higher premiums for state employees.

Likely changes come on the heels of significant premium increases in 2026, changes Briner said were necessary to stave off "a financial crisis" for the health plan.

North Carolina's State Health Plan stopped providing coverage for GLP-1s for weight loss last year. A new agreement with CVS Caremark lets the plan negotiate directly with manufacturers for the medications.

State Treasurer Brad Briner has said the plan faced a $500 million deficit in 2026 without major changes. Increasing premiums was a key step to bolstering the state's health insurance offering.

The Health Plan has kept premiums steady by using reserves for years. Now, those reserves are gone and administrators say major changes are necessary.

The state health plan board voted to allow the plan to charge state employees different premiums based on their salaries. The board will set monthly prices later this year.

Educators and other state employees began noticing these changes in January, after the state health plan switched administrators from Blue Cross Blue Shield to Aetna.

In a break with previous administration, new NC Treasurer Brad Briner says higher premiums, not legislative fixes, needed for NC Health Plan.