This is starting to be a really big deal.  Over the last few years, health costs in the US have grown at their slowest pace in the last 50 years.  This is important because projections of the federal budget deficit, projections of state health care costs in programs like Medicaid and health costs for businesses all are drastically altered if we actually are able to slow the rate of health care cost growth.

Simply put, if health costs continue on this trajectory of much lower growth, our long-term worry about federal deficits is given some much-needed breathing room.  For a state like North Carolina, a continuation of our already lowest-in-the-nation cost growth in our Medicaid program would mean a much stabler state budget and more flexibility to meet state needs.

Some have argued that the health spending slowdown is simply due to the lingering effects of the recession, but a new study detailed in the health policy journal Health Affairs is showing surprising data that a substantial part of the spending slowdown will continue:

Our findings suggest cautious optimism that the slowdown in the growth of health spending may persist—a change that, if borne out, could have a major impact on US health spending projections and fiscal challenges facing the country.

When Governor McCrory and the NC General Assembly rejected accepting federal money to expand Medicaid health coverage to families of four making under $29,000 a year, many people thought this decision just affected low income workers.  Wrong.  It affects NC businesses too and I explain why in this clip this morning from the Triangle Business Journal’s “Health Care Today” forum:

The US House of Representatives Congressional Committee on Education and the Workforce will be coming to Concord, NC to hold a hearing entitled “Health Care Challenges Facing North Carolina’s Workers and Job Creators” on Tuesday, April 30th at 9am.

Representative Richard Hudson (R-8th District, NC) is on the committee and will participate.

The hearing will take place at  Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, Concord, South Campus, Bldg 1000, Rm 106, 1531 Trinity Church Rd, Concord, NC from 9am to approximately 10.30am

Who: There will be two panels of four witnesses each; three of the witnesses on each panel will testify about the issues they see for business and the community college resulting from the implementation of Obamacare in North Carolina.

Dr. Olson Huff and I will be the two other witnesses – one of us on each panel.   Should be an interesting public meeting!

I was really struck this morning by the power of the two photos illustrating the story on the NC House’s passage of a voter ID law that we know will make it harder for many people to vote.  The N+O story read:

The voter ID issue resonated powerfully in the black community throughout the weeks of debate, with African-Americans comparing the measure to historical efforts to restrict blacks from voting. Complicating the voter ID debate are companion election bills being sponsored by Republicans, not debated Wednesday, that would restrict early voting, Sunday voting and same day registration – all of which effect African-Americans disproportionately.

And the front page photos emphasized that divide:

Earlier this week I noted McCrory’s Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Aldona Wos had issued an email signature policy for employees that was longer than the bill put together touting the Governor’s plan privatizing health care for the poor.  I got a great comment I wanted to share from a state employee, S, who is wrestling with implementation (of the signature policy, not selling off our public health care system):

This email signature policy is the dumbest thing I have seen in quite awhile!!

As a state employee with antiquated Windows programs (I still use Word 2003) it has taken up a good hour of my time today, and assistance from two coworkers, to try and get 11 pt font in black color for the signature on the emails I reply to – and we did NOT succeed! So now it is on to IT guy to get it fixed! What a brilliant use of public resources, right?