North Carolina Health Care Affordability Commission to Hold First Meeting on July 21

NC Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai and North Carolina State Treasurer Brad Briner to hold the first meeting of the Health Care Affordability Commission on Tuesday, July 21, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The meeting is open to the public and will be streamed live on the NCDHHS YouTube page.

The commission is part of Governor Stein’s commitment to expanding access to affordable health care in North Carolina and aims to develop timely, concrete solutions to rein in surging health care costs.

"Across North Carolina, families make difficult decisions every day about insurance, prescription drugs, medical bills, and whether they can afford to seek care when they need it," said Dev Sangvai, Health and Human Services Secretary. "The commission’s goal is to understand what is driving cost and identifying ways to make health care more affordable, accessible, and effective for every North Carolinian."

"We’ve been discussing health care affordability for decades, with little to no significant improvements. That has to change," said Treasurer Brad Briner. "The time for partisanship and pointing fingers needs to be done. We must work together to find meaningful recommendations on how to right this ship."

What:
Meeting of Governor Josh Stein’s Health Care Affordability Commission  

Who:
Dev Sangvai, Secretary, N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, Co-Chair 
Brad Briner, Treasurer, State of North Carolina, Co-Chair  

When:
July 21, 2026 
10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. 

Where:
In-Person Option:
North Carolina Department of Administration 
325 N. Salisbury Street, Raleigh, NC 27603

Virtual Option: NCDHHS YouTube Live Link

Media:
Credentialed media should RSVP to news@dhhs.nc.gov or Loretta.Boniti@nctreasurer.gov 

Health Care Affordability Commission Voting Members: 
Dev Sangvai, Secretary, N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, Co-Chair  
Brad Briner, Treasurer, State of North Carolina, Co-Chair 
Gale Adcock, Member, N.C. Senate  
Allen Buansi, Member, N.C. House of Representatives 
Benton Sawrey, Member, N.C. Senate 
Timothy Reeder, M.D., Member, N.C. House of Representatives 
Kristin Walker, Director, Office of State Budget and Management 

Advisory Members: 
Josh Dobson, President and CEO, North Carolina Healthcare Association 
John Green, CEO, Iredell Health System 
Sandra Greene, DrPH, Professor of the Practice, Gillings School of Global Public Health 
Tina Gordon, CEO, North Carolina Nurses Association 
Steve Keene, President, North Carolina Medical Society 
Rachel Keever, M.D., CEO, Foundation for Health Leadership and Innovation 
Mark McClellan, M.D., Director, Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy 
Karen McLeod, President and CEO, Benchmarks 
Paige Ouimet, Ph.D., Professor, UNC Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise 
Cristy Page, M.D., CEO, UNC Health, and Dean, UNC School of Medicine 
Michelle Ries, Director, North Carolina Institute of Medicine 
Nicholas Riggs, Director, North Carolina Navigator Consortium 
Rob Robinson, President, North Carolina Association of Public Community Health Plans 
Gary Salamido, President and CEO, NC Chamber 
Karen L. Smith, M.D., Family Medicine Practice of Karen L. Smith 
Tunde Sotunde, M.D., CEO, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina 
Laurie Stradley, DrPH, CEO, Impact Health 
Dave Werry, President, Well 
Tom Wroth, M.D., President and CEO, Community Care of North Carolina