This November, voters in North Carolina will pick a new state treasurer to take on the management of the State Health Plan, the state’s $123 billion pension plan and other state employee benefits.
Two candidates want to replace Republican Dale Folwell, who was elected in 2016 and reelected in 2020 as treasurer. This year, he ran unsuccessfully for governor in the Republican primary, leaving the treasurer’s seat open.
The candidates seeking to replace Folwell are Republican Brad Briner and Democrat Wesley Harris.
Briner is a retired financial investor who previously managed the philanthropic assets of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He also serves on the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees and has a master’s in business administration from Harvard University.
Harris is a former economic consultant and has been a state representative from Mecklenburg County since 2019. He has a PhD in economics from Clemson University
Candidate questionnaires
The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer asked candidates running for office in the Nov. 5 election to complete questionnaires.
These included inquiries of all candidates in Council of State races, including the treasurer position.
Both Briner and Harris responded to the questionnaire, which posed questions about ensuring the solvency of the State Health Plan and potential changes to retiree benefits, considering the state’s retiree benefit liability.
The State Health Plan provides medical and pharmaceutical benefits to more than 750,000 current and retired public employees. Folwell’s staff forecasted in July the plan will be $816 million in the red by calendar year 2027. Retiree health benefits are facing a $26.65 billion liability, according to a June 2023 report from The Segal Group.
While both candidates expressed confidence in their ability to address the liability, they proposed different approaches. Harris emphasized enhancing care, recruiting employees, and negotiating with health care providers and pharmaceutical companies.
Briner advocated for renegotiating the short-term contract with the State Health Plan’s pharmacy benefit manager, currently CVS Caremark, and called for a reassessment of the state’s Clear Pricing Plan, among other measures.
Both candidates also said they would work to reinstate coverage by the State Health Plan of weight loss drugs such as Wegovy, Saxenda and Zepbound, and laid out the approach they would take to do so.
Candidates also agreed that more of the state’s pension plan cash needs to be invested, but differed on the specifics of that investment strategy.
Dive deeper into the candidate questionnaires for Harris, Briner and other candidates on your ballot at newsobserver.com/voterguide.
Under the Dome
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