UNC Health Care’s response to a public records request, left NC’s Treasurer in the dark
There's just one twist: UNC actually refused to release the info Folwell requested under the Freedom of Information Act. Instead, UNC sent Folwell's office a contract with all the relevant information blacked out. Some of the pages are nothing but pitch black rectangles.
"[Blackout] is providing a great service to the people of
UNC said the information Folwell is seeking is not for public dissemination.
"All health care agreements between hospitals, doctors and insurance companies are proprietary business agreements, and therefore considered confidential," UNC said in a statement. "In addition, independent audit firms routinely examine insurance contracts to ensure the correct contract rates are being applied."
Folwell said by phone that his request exposes one of the perverse features of the health care market, which functions like no other business: Prices for goods and services are a mystery, and customers are charged after the fact for services. The cost of the same procedure varies from doctor to doctor, from hospital to hospital, from one part of the state to another.
The State Health Plan is self-insured, which means that it's on the hook for all health care expenses incurred by its members.
The State Health Plan pays more than
So in July, Folwell's office asked UNC to disclose the fees the UNC system charges for medical services provided by UNC facilities, doctors and labs. It's the first time Folwell tried using the Freedom of Information Act to pry the information loose.
"What we're seeking is an understanding of not what we're billed, but what we're supposed to pay," Folwell said.
The medical fees are negotiated by
"We are concerned about the overall cost of health care in our state and nation," the statement said. "As
Folwell noted that UNC is hardly unique. He hasn't seen the negotiated medical fees from any health insurer or from any medical provider that State Health Plan members use.
"The irony of this is we're paying benefits for their employees -- they're on the State Health Plan," Folwell said of UNC. "I thought that would be the natural place to start to ask what I'm supposed to pay."
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