BY Kim Genardo
NBC17
RALEIGH, N.C. — The rush is on to lose weight and stop smoking.

During the State Employees 2009 Health and Wellness Expo at the North Carolina Fairgrounds Wednesday, among the most crowded booths — weight loss plans, fitness memberships and healthy eating options.

State workers and those covered under the State Health Plan will pay higher premiums next July if they don’t kick the habit.

Then the following year, July 2011, those deemed overweight will pay more too.

Molly Taylor who helped organize the expo said weight loss is all the talk when she’s working in the state auditor’s office.

“We have some wives who are helping their husbands loose weight cause they didn’t do it for any other reason, but now that it’s going to cost them money the husbands will loose the weight,” said Taylor.

Gov. Bev Perdue spoke to the crowd and encouraged them all to become role models.

She told the crowd she lost nearly 100 pounds in the 1990s, she gave up smoking in 2003, and now she exercises everyday and must manage her high blood pressure.

“I just decided I could control my own destiny.  If state employees want to do that, I’m here to cheer them on. But again, this is personal, nobobdy can make you do it. It’s something you have to decide to do,” said Perdue.

But what about those who are not as motivated? Eventually they’ll be paying more for their health coverage. Lawmakers approved changes to the plan during the budget session.

“The health plan is done by the General Assembly and someday I’m hopeful to have that changed. I’ve never been a fan of how decisions are made for premium changes,” said Perdue.

The health plan covers 667,000 state employees and teachers.

Lawmakers will consider a renewal in 2011.

RALEIGH, N.C.  – The health insurance plan for North Carolina state employees is still paying out more claims than budgeted for the first three months of the fiscal year.

Lawmakers received State Health Plan data Thursday showing paid medical claims are 4 percent higher than expected through Sept. 30.

That’s better compared to an 8 percent increase through August.

Plan leaders attribute higher payouts to patients going to the doctor before higher payment schedules took effect July 1. Chief financial officer Mona Moon said she’s waiting for more figures to determine whether expense levels will come down.

The plan is on track to have $130 million on hand next summer.

It was in danger of running out of cash last spring before the Legislature approved a $675 million bailout.

WASHINGTON  – The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee is proposing a fee on insurance companies to help pay for health coverage for uninsured Americans.

Sen. Max Baucus is circulating his proposal among the five other members of a bipartisan group trying to craft a bill. It is not clear whether the idea will win the support of Republicans in the group, especially Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Mike Enzi of Wyoming.

The plan put forth by the Montana Democrat was revealed Monday on grounds of anonymity because of continuing negotiations. The proposal would establish new coverage access for hard-to-insure people. Baucus’ group is to meet Tuesday, a day before President Barack Obama addresses Congress on the problem.

RALEIGH, N.C.  – The powerful head of the North Carolina Senate is turning his attention to the insurance woes of his neighbors now that the state budget is in hand.

The Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday takes up legislation fixing an underfunded coastal insurance program. The plan to beef up the Beach Plan includes tacking an extra charge on every property insurance policy in the state if there is a disastrous storm season.

Senate leader Marc Basnight of Dare County says a version that passed the House would lock in big insurance increases that have hurt his conttiuents. Basnight said he pays $4,000 a year on his three-bedroom house, and three-quarters of that is for wind coverage.

RALEIGH, N.C.  – The state House tentatively approved a plan to fix an underfunded coastal insurance program after first refusing to double the insurance industry’s maximum liability from a catastrophic hurricane to $2 billion.

The House voted 89-27 on Tuesday to back Beach Plan reforms that include putting all insured North Carolina property owners on the hook if a disaster pushes claims beyond the industry’s $1 billion cap on assessments. A final House vote could come as early as Wednesday.

Supporters said the changes are needed to keep insurance companies from pulling out of North Carolina, which would lead to higher prices and fewer choices statewide. Insurers now have unlimited liability to make good on damage claims covered by the Beach Plan.

RALEIGH, N.C.  – A state House committee pores over the financial effects on North Carolina from revamping an underfunded insurance program for coastal properties.

The House Finance Committee on Thursday considers the best way to fix the Beach Plan, a vital insurance provider for homes in 18 coastal counties.

The Beach Plan has promised insurance coverage to properties valued at nearly $74 billion, but its resources top out at about $2.4 billion. Beyond that, the Beach Plan would turn to all of the state’s property insurers to pay claims.

Lawmakers are proposing changes that include capping how much insurers would be assessed after a bad hurricane and shifting the remaining rebuilding costs to all North Carolina policyholders.

RALEIGH, N.C.  – North Carolina lawmakers are unveiling a proposal for who would pay claims for coastal damage after a bad hurricane season.

The House Insurance Committee on Thursday is considering an attempted compromise on the Beach Plan that’s still unlikely to please property owners or insurance companies.

The legislation is trying to fix the state-created insurance agency for property in 18 coastal counties.

The Beach Plan was created in 1969 as the insurer of last resort. But it has ballooned as insurance companies raised rates in storm-prone coastal areas after Hurricane Andrew in 1993.

The Beach Plan now insures 170,000 properties valued at nearly $74 billion. But it has the resources to cover just a fraction of that.

WASHINGTON  – The insurance industry Tuesday laid down a marker on health care, warning in stark terms that a proposed government insurance plan would dismantle the employer coverage Americans have relied on for a half century and overtake the system.

In a joint letter to senators, the two largest industry groups also said they don’t believe it’s possible to design a government plan that can compete fairly with private companies in a revamped health care market. That particular statement seemed to be aimed at lawmakers of both parties who are seeking a compromise on the contentious issue.

Release of the letter from America’s Health Insurance Plans and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association came as House Democrats pushed forward with a partisan health care bill. Meanwhile, key Senate Democrats were still laboring to achieve an elusive bipartisan compromise on President Barack Obama’s top legislative priority of controlling costs and providing health coverage to 50 million uninsured Americans.

Recent media polls have found strong public support for the idea of a government plan. It would compete with private companies to offer coverage to individuals and small businesses, but eventually might be opened to large employers as well. The positive public reaction to the idea has emboldened liberals, who are arguing that Democrats shouldn’t compromise.

The insurers suggested a government plan would run counter to Obama’s promise that Americans can keep the coverage they have.

“A government-run plan no matter how it is initially structured would dismantle employer-based coverage, significantly increase costs for those who remain in private coverage, and add additional liabilities to the federal budget,” said the letter from AHIP chief Karen Ignagni and Scott Serota, the head of Blue Cross.

Supporters of a public plan say just the opposite would happen – that competition would force private insurers to cut administrative overhead and profits, putting a brake on costs all around.

“We do not believe that it is possible to create a government plan that could operate on a level playing field. Regardless of how it is initially structured, a government plan would use its built-in advantages to take over the health insurance market,” added the industry letter.

Instead, the industry says it is ready to accept close government regulation to protect consumers. Dated June 19, the letter was addressed to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass.

Kennedy’s committee, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions panel, has not yet finished its design for a government plan. Bogged down in delays and partisan strife, the panel jettisoned an end-of-week deadline for passing its bill.

Deliberations on both sides of the Capitol are continuing with lawmakers mindful of next week’s July 4 congressional recess. Most will return home to face constituents with plenty of questions about their plans to overhaul the nation’s costly health care system.

A sweeping bill unveiled in the Democratic-controlled House last week is being weighed in hearings that got under way Tuesday. The draft legislation, written without Republican help, would require all Americans to purchase health insurance and would put new requirements on employers, too.

Obama’s goal for signing a bill in October appears in doubt.

But Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, is doggedly pursuing a compromise. “We will get a bipartisan agreement,” he insisted Monday.

Of the five House and Senate committees working on health care, Finance is the only one that appears to have a chance at a bipartisan agreement. Baucus planned to huddle behind closed doors Tuesday with a group of senators he’s dubbed the “coalition of the willing.” Others involved are top committee Republican Charles Grassley of Iowa; Republicans Mike Enzi of Wyoming, Orrin Hatch of Utah and Olympia Snowe of Maine; and Democrats Kent Conrad of North Dakota and Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico.

Looming large is the question of cost. Initial estimates had Senate plans topping $1.6 trillion over 10 years, and senators are working to scale back. Curbs on Medicare and Medicaid spending are assured, and a range of taxes are under consideration, along with the possibility of fees on employers who don’t cover their employees.

The Senate’s health committee is waiting for revenue estimates from the Congressional Budget Office on three scenarios for employer requirements, according to Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., who’s leading the committee during Sen. Edward M. Kennedy’s treatment for brain cancer. They are a requirement that employers provide health coverage for employees or pay a fee; an approach requiring employers to chip in to the federal treasury for employees who are covered under public plans; and a scenario where employers who don’t cover their employees would pay the government a set amount per employee.

WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats on Wednesday took the first major step toward a sweeping overhaul of the health care system in over a decade, pushing legislation despite strenuous GOP opposition and uncertainty about its provisions and costs.

“This is about as historic as it gets for all of us,” said Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., who is overseeing the proceedings in place of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., who is battling brain cancer.

“No issue is more of a moral imperative,” Dodd said. “In the richest nation on the face of this Earth, you shouldn’t have to be well-off to get well.”

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee began work on a bill encompassing President Barack Obama’s legislative priority. The effort marked the first time since President Bill Clinton’s administration in the early 1990s that Congress was tackling such a broad overhaul.

High costs, uneven health care and nearly 50 million Americans uninsured have created the strongest political momentum for remaking the system in decades.

The Senate measure would cost about $1 trillion over 10 years, but leave 37 million people uninsured, according to an analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., last year’s GOP presidential nominee, questioned how the committee could move ahead on legislation without hard figures on cost.

“How can we possibly, reasonably address this bill … without accounting how to pay for it?” McCain asked at the start of the committee’s session. McCain said it was “a joke if we run through this stack of papers.”

Dodd answered that the budget office had provided numbers on some elements and the committee would produce legislation that will be paid for.

But the committee was forced to delay work on its bill after getting initial high cost estimates of $1.6 trillion. Committee aides said the delays make it likely that the panel won’t be able to deliberate on its bill until after Congress’ July 4th recess.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., would only say: “We’ll be ready when we’re ready, but we’re not there yet.”

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, speaking in the full Senate, complained that lawmakers are being pressed to approve the measure without review or knowledge of the costs, just like the stimulus bill.

“Once again it’s rush and spend and rush and spend and a tidal wave of debt,” McConnell said.

Big holes remain on the most contentious issues in the 600-plus-page bill: a new public insurance plan to compete with the private market, and whether employers must provide health care for their workers.

The committee was scheduled to meet daily through next week. There were 388 amendments to be considered, the vast majority from Republicans.

Majority Democrats in the House could make their bill public this week, with committee votes after Congress returns from its July 4 recess.

Major cuts in Medicare and Medicaid will pay for some of the new costs but senators disagreed among themselves over whether to tax employer-provided health benefits – something Obama campaigned against. Also elusive was a compromise with Republicans on a new public insurance plan, which the GOP opposes.

The emerging bills envision a new insurance market “exchange” where people could go to shop for insurance coverage, helped by federal subsidies. Individuals will almost certainly be required to obtain coverage.

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