(The Center Square) – On behalf of nearly 750,000 teachers, state employees, retirees, lawmakers active and retired, and members of higher education, the State Health Plan and state Treasurer Brad Briner have asked for a temporary injunction against Atrium Health.
Atrium’s Affordability Protection Program, says the first-term Republican, violates state law and could lead to the State Health Plan going bankrupt. Judge Matthew Houston, special Superior Court judge for complex business cases on the North Carolina Business Court, on Monday said he would hear arguments for and against on Tuesday in Sanford at the Lee County Courthouse.
Because of the late move by Atrium, Briner – charged with oversight of the State Health Plan by the General Statutes – extended the open enrollment period a week to Nov. 6.
Atrium says it created the additional program to “preserve access, patient choice and affordability for enrolled North Carolina State Health Plan members.” Briner’s office said it could lower out-of-pocket costs for some members at Atrium facilities, but it is not “affordable” for the State Health Plan as a whole. He says it could lead to bankruptcy.
Additionally, Briner says the state treasurer by law has the duty “to set the Plan’s copays, deductibles and coinsurance amounts. Atrium has never been given this authority, yet it believes it can change these amounts simply by posting new ones on its website. That’s not how it works.”
Bankruptcy of the plan would threaten the state’s top-shelf credit rating. Additionally, recruiting and retaining state employees – with government and education at the forefront – would become more difficult.
At the June 30, 2025, actuarial valuation, the State Health Plan and Retiree Health Benefit Fund had net other postemployment benefits liability of $21.95 billion, according to the state’s Office of Budget and Management. For context, that’s a marked improvement from $29.3 billion in 2010 and $40 billion in 2016.