North Carolinians Cannot Afford to Pay More for Health Care

Governor Perdue Should Reveal What Has Changed Since Last Week

Raleigh, N.C. – Last week, Governor Beverly Perdue attended the summer meeting of the National Governor’s Association for a discussion of national health care policy and expressed her concerns that a national health care overhaul will leave states footing the bill.

Perdue said in a statement, “We are all hungry for a solution, but the absolute deal breaker for me as governor is a federal plan that shifts costs to the states.” (“Perdue’s stand on health plan: Don’t burden states,” News & Observer, 7/22/09)

One may question what Governor Perdue has learned since last week to assuage her concerns that a national health care overhaul would cause further problems to a state budget Democrats have yet to agree on nearly a month past the original deadline.

Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) made the following statement:

“Like many North Carolinians I am concerned that the national health care overhaul envisioned by the President will result in greater burdens to families, small businesses, and state governments. If Governor Perdue has learned something to convince her that the national Democrats’ health care experiment will lower costs for North Carolinians and not cause further problems to the state budget, she should share that information with the people of North Carolina. We are four weeks into the fiscal year without a state budget; we cannot afford to have state government, meaning state taxpayers, foot more of the bill for health care costs. Governor Perdue and legislative Democrats should focus on adopting a balanced state budget that does not raise taxes on struggling North Carolina families and businesses.”

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