NC Affordability Commission Weighs Primary Care Spending Targets
North Carolina's Health Care Affordability Commission, a bipartisan body appointed by Gov. Josh Stein in June, met Oct. 2 to debate strategies for lowering healthcare costs, including setting annual primary care spending targets for public and private insurers. Members include state Treasurer Brad Briner, DHHS Secretary Dev Sangvai (who oversees Medicaid), Blue Cross NC's CEO, and physician and nursing representatives. The commission acknowledged a roughly 2,000-doctor shortage in rural areas complicates any primary-care-first strategy, and debate continued over whether nurse practitioners should be allowed to practice without physician supervision, an issue also now in litigation. No final recommendations have been issued; the commission continues deliberating.