The legislature did not take up an override of Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of its budget last week. Instead, most of the attention turned to the State Health Plan and the reluctance by the state’s hospitals to accept the Clear Pricing Project.

State Treasurer Dale Folwell’s July 1 deadline for providers to sign on to the Clear Pricing Project passed Monday with the state’s big hospitals continuing to hold out.

Three hospitals – Martin General in Williamston, Randolph Health in Asheboro and N.C. Specialty Hospitals in Durham – signed contracts to accept the State Health Plan as of Jan. 2020, along with more than 25,000 providers statewide.

State employees and retirees are covered under the current contract through the end of the year.

A former health care executive said in a column this week that the plan – which will save taxpayers more than $250 million and plan members more than $60 million in out-of-pocket costs – could bring true competition to the health care industry for the first time in decades.

Does your local hospital plan to sign the contract to serve state employees and retirees in 2020? Call and ask them! 

Click here to find phone numbers for all 111 hospitals in the state.