As legislators prepare to return to Raleigh for the Short Session later this month, the state budget remains unfinished — and state employees and retirees are waiting on what comes next.

Speaker Destin Hall told WRAL this week that passing a budget is the House's top priority. He pointed directly at state workers:

"We have state employees, teachers, and law enforcement who need a pay raise, and that's what the House has been fighting for now during this entire biennium. And we want to make sure that they don't just get pay raises, but they get meaningful pay raises."

Funding the State Health Plan is one of the most consequential items in that unfinished budget. This week on The SEANC View podcast, State Health Plan Executive Administrator Thomas Friedman explained how the new Lantern program works — a tiered-provider model designed to lower costs for members while protecting access, including in rural areas.

Friedman discussed early results, contract changes aimed at increasing transparency and competition, and how better provider pricing could help preserve funds for raises and retiree benefits. Participation remains voluntary, with member choice at the center.