A grassroots organization, One Nation, Overcharged, gathered in downtown Raleigh on Saturday to advocate for affordable healthcare, just one day after the State Health Plan board approved new policies that would raise insurance premiums for state employees by 5%.
Impact on State Employees
The premium increase could see people paying anywhere from $1.76 to $32.28 extra per month, depending on which plan they have, what their salary is, and whether they also insure any family members through the state.
According to the Westin Health Gallup Center on Healthcare, 26% of people in North Carolina skipped healthcare because they could not afford it within the last year, and 19% of North Carolinians said healthcare costs are a major financial burden on their household.
State Treasurer Brad Briner said the premium increase is just a small part of the changes to come, and that the changes in premiums, along with the change-up in doctors, will save the Health Plan potentially hundreds of millions of dollars, if enough people take part.
A Call for Affordable Healthcare
Cristina Galvan, one of the organization’s partners, said she hoped the event would spark conversations around rising healthcare costs. ‘This is a nationwide issue,’ Galvan said. ‘Our system is broken, and for far too long, profits have been made a priority over people. It’s just not a system that is sustainable. It’s not fair.’
Galvan also expressed her desire for a single-payer healthcare system, where anybody can go to the doctor and afford it, regardless of where they live or come from.
Original reporting: WRAL Raleigh — read the source article.
