In N.C., Deductibles Up 40 Percent

Anyone searching for an example of how the Trump administration could affect future healthcare costs has a prime example in North Carolina.

The uncertainty of whether the administration will fund federal cost-sharing payments led Blue Cross Blue Shield of N.C. on Thursday to offer two premium increase scenarios for the 2018 individual marketplace exchange.

The first is a 22.9 percent hike predicated on the White House choosing not to fund the payments, which serve as subsidies to help lower-income individuals buy plans with reduced out-of-pocket costs for medical care, such as lower deductibles and co-payments.