Perspective | Rising health care premiums may force impossible choices for our public school workers

Editor’s Note: According to the media advisory, today, the Board of Trustees of the North Carolina State Health Plan is expected to vote on changes to the State Health Plan other than premiums. A vote on premiums is currently anticipated in August 2025.

Later this summer, the Board of Trustees of the North Carolina State Health Plan is expected to vote on increasing health care premiums for state employees as they attempt to fill a budget deficit expected to reach $507 million by 2026. 

According to State Health Plan officials in the Treasurer’s Office, the dramatically rising cost of health insurance is to blame and could grow the deficit to $1.4 billion by 2027.

As an elementary music school teacher, president of the North Carolina Association of Educators, and a voice for the thousands of public school educators and staff working across the state, I have remained opposed to any premium increases. Considering the state of educator pay in North Carolina, asking them to shoulder higher health care costs is not only unfair — it’s unsustainable.

For decades, state employees in North Carolina accepted below-market-value salaries in exchange for a more generous package of benefits.

However, since the Great Recession in the late 2000s, that bargain has been broken. Over the years, already low salaries haven’t kept pace with inflation, while employee benefits have been eroded.

I’ve heard from many educators across the state who are worried about what an increase in premiums would mean for their family budgets. Others are worried that a premium increase will wipe out any raise they might get from the state legislature. Many NCAE members work second or even third jobs to help make ends meet.

Raising premiums today means some employees — bus drivers, cafeteria workers, teaching assistants, and even teachers — will have to make impossible choices. For many, this could be the final push out of the profession entirely.

The years of underinvestment in our K-12 education workforce have led to a critical staffing shortage. If we increase costs for those who stay, how will we fill the gaps? Who will be there for our students?

This decision isn’t just about numbers on a spreadsheet — it’s about the people who keep our schools and state services running. It’s about the children in our classrooms who depend on consistent, caring adults to support their learning and growth.

I feel for the Trustees of the State Health Plan, who are caught between a rock and a hard place. The Trustee’s role is to act as fiduciaries of the Plan. Their responsibility is to ensure the financial stability of the plan, not to solve the State’s employee vacancy crisis. That responsibility is on the North Carolina General Assembly. 

Lawmakers have proposed an additional $100 million for the State Health Plan to help patch the deficit, but that leaves state employees on the hook for the additional $400 million. As the State Senate and State House work out their final budget agreement, now is the perfect time to begin to repair the bargain between the State and its public employees. 

This morning, I will again urge the State Health Plan Trustees not to go along with the plan to raise premiums. State lawmakers have the power and tools to fill the health plan deficit. But acting before legislators have a chance to solve this crisis will only absolve lawmakers of their responsibility. 

Instead, Treasurer Briner and the Trustees should be working with the legislature, so we can find a solution that protects our workforce and the students and communities we serve.