Opinion: Woodhouse opposes North Carolina HB 246 and Medicare-for-all health care
The last thing North Carolinians can afford are new government mandates that would steer the health care system down the path toward a socialist Medicare-for-All style outcome.
That is why the North Carolina Senate must reject HB 246. This legislation would further insert government into health care by taking away the freedom of North Carolina businesses to unlock prescription drug savings for themselves and their employees through options like lower cost pharmacy networks or home delivery of prescriptions.
This would be particularly harmful for businesses and patients in North Carolina’s rural, and too often forgotten, communities, where choices — like the option for home delivery of prescriptions — save patients time, hassle and money, while also helping their employer offer higher quality and lower cost health insurance.
This bill would also tack a $10.24 fee onto the majority of prescriptions filled in North Carolina, only for the purpose of locking in profits for special interest pharmacies seeking government backed preferential treatment in the marketplace.
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In other words, HB 246 would require that North Carolina patients, including seniors and those with chronic conditions like diabetes, pay more for their prescriptions to guarantee the profits of the special interests pushing for these new regulations. North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District, which includes most of Western North Carolina, is home to some of the state’s poorest counties. When ranked by median household income, 10 of NC-11’s 15 counties fall among the bottom half of the state. This means that for Western North Carolinians, HB 246’s effects are going to be felt close to home.
The market works best with limited government and competition. The General Assembly should not dictate government handouts for some and government mandates stripping flexibility, freedom and savings from others.
North Carolina employers should have the freedom to tailor their health insurance coverage to best serve their needs and the needs of their employees. Reducing flexibility, eliminating pharmacy benefits administered by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), and imposing onerous fees through new government mandates will only increase prescription drug costs and hamper the competitiveness and growth of North Carolina’s approximately 964,000 small businesses.
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By expanding government mandates in health care, HB 246 would also play right into the hands of far left politicians eager to impose a socialist health care system on all of us. If given the choice between getting less expensive prescriptions at certain pharmacy locations or more expensive prescriptions at any location, I would choose the first option. If my medication would be more affordable if delivered to my home, I would appreciate my employer giving me that choice. Lawmakers in our state have the opportunity to support free market forces and stand against the Left’s march toward a government takeover of health care by rejecting HB 246.
“Ultimately, the greatest threat to patient health and access to medicines is the Democrats’ push to nationalize our health care system, which would undermine the discovery, innovation, flexibility and access to new medicines that make America the home of pharmaceutical discovery and innovation,” Joe Grogan, former domestic policy adviser to President Donald J. Trump, recently wrote in The Washington Examiner. “Republicans should reject any effort to further insert the government into the health care system, including efforts targeting PBMs.”
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The free market forces that come with a competitive market help to keep costs down. HB 246 undermines the critical components of a healthy market. Pharmacy benefits save the average employer $878 per employee each year on their prescription drug costs — allowing businesses to drive down health care costs for employees, support their wellness and invest in remaining competitive as drivers of economic vitality in our communities.
Pharmacy benefits further help employers attract and retain skilled employees for critical roles — and continue to compete and grow their business. What’s good for our businesses is ultimately good for our overall economy.
Our lawmakers in Raleigh should stand for all North Carolinians by rejecting government mandates designed to dismantle free market forces in health care and choose who wins and who loses, with small businesses, seniors, patients and rural communities picked for the losing side. I encourage our state leaders to oppose HB 246 and protect pharmacy benefits that support economic vitality and prescription drug savings for North Carolina families.
Michele Woodhouse is a conservative activist and the former NC11 GOP District Chair.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Prescription drug costs may rise if NC House Bill 246 is passed
