The State Health Plan (Plan) Board of Trustees met on Friday, Aug. 15, to set premiums for 2026. State Health Plan members include teachers, state employees and retirees. This is the final step in the three-pronged effort to provide financial stability as the Plan faces a half a billion-dollar deficit. The approved premiums include increases for active members and, notably, a cost reduction for some employees who choose to cover children on their plan. To lessen the financial burden on the state’s lowest paid employees, the Plan will be introducing salary-based premiums in 2026. 

Active Plan members have seen little change in premiums or benefits for the last seven years, in part because the Plan used cash reserves to keep premiums flat while the Plan’s costs continued to rise. Those cash reserves are now nearly depleted, and the current Board of Trustees was saddled with a $507 million deficit. This prompted necessary, immediate action. 

The burden of this financial crisis is being shouldered by everyone involved with the Plan. The General Assembly approved, and Gov. Josh Stein signed into law, an additional $100 million for 2026 to the Plan. Doctors and health care systems across the state have agreed to reduce their rates for Plan members - doing the same work for less money. The final step came from the Board of Trustees who approved 2026 benefit changes - which it voted on in May - followed by today’s vote on premium increases. The Plan is now headed towards a more financially sustainable path. 

“Today’s vote was not easy, but these increases were necessary to keep the Plan solvent and to keep this benefit in place for those that serve and have served the state of North Carolina,” said Treasurer Brad Briner, who chairs the board, in a press release. “The goal now is to move forward and focus on ways to improve benefits through transparency and better partnerships and programs to keep our members healthy.

Plan members will receive more information regarding benefits and premium rates prior to the 2026 Open Enrollment period, which will take place Oct. 13-31, 2025.

The State Health Plan, a division of the Department of State Treasurer, provides health care coverage to more than 750,000 teachers, state employees, retirees, current and former lawmakers, state university and community college personnel, and their dependents. The full board presentation, which includes all premium rates approved at today’s meeting is available on the Plan’s website.