What The Health

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What is What The Health?

Our goal is to give patients a voice. The sustainability of the North Carolina State Health Plan is at risk, and its fate depends on us. 

  • You’re paying more than you should for your health care. Health care is so expensive because the underlying system rewards monopolies and ever higher prices.
  • The State Health Plan is forced to operate like a blank check. The Plan can’t use its own data to negotiate the best deal for you. It’s your money, but current law limits our ability to guard it. The Plan cannot be fiscally secure until it gains control over its own spending. 
  • We believe patients have a right to know what hospitals and health providers are going to charge them before they get the bill. 

Your State Health Plan is worth protecting. Remember that you are a valued Plan member – and your State Health Plan is a valuable benefit!

State Treasurer Folwell Finds North Carolina 340B Hospitals Overcharged State Employees for Cancer Drugs, Reaped Thousands of Dollars in Profits Per Claim

North Carolina Hospitals Used the Federal Safety-Net 340B Drug Pricing Program to Enrich Themselves Rather Than to Serve Vulnerable Communities. Click here to learn more and view the report.

North Carolina Hospitals Charge Families Huge Price Markups for Common Shoppable Services, Hide Prices from Patients

Report shows extreme variations in hospital prices, huge price markups from Medicare rates, and widespread failures in price transparency. Click to read the full report.

Hospitals Sued 7,517 Patients, Family Members Over Medical Debt

Study by Duke University School of Law researchers and the North Carolina Office of State Treasurer finds that North Carolina’s hospitals obtained legal judgments, including interest charges, from patients with medical debt. Click to read the full report.

Nonprofit Hospital Executive Pay

Groundbreaking Report Concludes Nonprofit Hospitals Paid Top Executives More Than $1.75 Billion Over the Past Decade, Doubling CEO Compensation Faster than Previously Believed. Click to read the full report.

North Carolina Hospitals Profit on Medicare

The North Carolina State Health Plan and Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy Find that the Majority of North Carolina’s Hospitals Are Overcharging Patients While Profiting From Medicare. Click to read the full report.

North Carolina Hospital Systems Enjoyed Record Profits During Pandemic

The North Carolina State Health Plan and the National Academy of State Health Policy find that North Carolina’s seven largest hospital systems reaped billions of dollars in profits and growth in cash and investments. Click to read the full report.

Research Shows Some North Carolina Nonprofit Hospitals Billing Poor Patients Amid Failures in Charity Care

The North Carolina State Health Plan and the National Academy of State Health Policy discover that some nonprofit hospitals billed nearly $150 million to disadvantaged patients instead of providing them charity care. Click to read the full report.

North Carolina Nonprofit Hospitals Fail in Providing Charity Care Despite Tax Breaks

The State Health Plan and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health find troubling disparities in hospitals’ commitment to the most vulnerable members of their communities. Click to read the full report.

An Important Message from Your State Treasurer

An Interview with SEANC