2005 North Carolina Code - General Statutes § 58-90-1. Findings and Purpose.

Article 90.

Health Insurance Innovations Commission.

§ 58‑90‑1.  Findings and Purpose.

The General Assembly finds that a crisis exists in the availability and affordability of adequate health insurance coverage for small business owners and employees in this State. These findings indicate that greater than fifty percent (50%) of the statewide workforce is employed by small business, that there are 1,154,000 North Carolinians who are not covered by health insurance, and that more than sixty percent (60%) of these citizens either own or work for a small business, or are the dependent of a small business owner or employee. The findings further indicate that 16 health insurance carriers left the North Carolina small group health coverage market in 2001, an all‑time high, that virtually no small group health insurance carriers have entered the North Carolina market in the last two years, and that dramatic increases in premium rates are the primary reason for the alarming decrease in availability of health insurance coverage for small business. The purpose of this act is to quickly and effectively address this crisis through the collaborative efforts of persons involved in and affected by the declining availability of health insurance for the State's small employer workforce. It is the intent of the General Assembly to achieve this purpose through the establishment of the North Carolina Health Insurance Innovations Commission in accordance with this Article. (2004‑175, s.1)