Whatley’s 183% health care claim doesn’t add up

Republican Michael Whatley said health care premiums increased when Roy Cooper was governor, but premiums actually went down during this period.

Whatley and Cooper are competing for North Carolina’s open U.S. Senate seat. The outcome may determine which party controls the higher chamber next year.

Whatley told Breitbart News on Aug. 30 that health insurance premiums in the state “went up 183%” during Cooper’s two terms as governor. He repeated this claim at last week’s Republican midterm convention in Dallas, Texas.

“Under Roy Cooper’s reign, North Carolina became the most expensive state in the nation for health care costs,” Whatley said. “Under his watch, health care companies have raised insurance premiums 183%, hurting our families’ bottom lines as they already struggle to make ends meet.”

This claim appears to be based on a 2021 analysis by the right-wing Heritage Foundation, but even that analysis does not support Whatley’s assertion.

The Heritage Foundation said health insurance premiums rose by 183% in North Carolina between 2013 and 2019. Cooper became governor in 2017, meaning the bulk of this increase happened under Republican Gov. Pat McCrory.

This figure was based on medical loss ratio data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The same dataset shows that average premiums in the state actually decreased by 12% during Cooper’s tenure. This would be the third-largest premium decrease of any state between 2017 and 2024.

Whatley’s claim that “North Carolina became the most expensive state” for health care costs is also dubiously sourced.

In January 2025, Forbes published a study claiming that North Carolina had the highest health care costs of any state in 2024. Researchers at Ascendient Healthcare, a North Carolina-based consulting firm, disputed the finding, arguing that the study relied primarily on the premiums and deductibles paid each year by people with employer-sponsored health insurance. They noted that fewer than half of North Carolinians have employer-sponsored health coverage.

Republican state treasurer Brad Briner also expressed skepticism about the Forbes study, telling the Carolina Public Press that it made him ask “What is the methodology here? What is the ulterior motive here?’”

Forbes ultimately removed the study from its website.

A KFF tracking poll from April found that health care costs are the top affordability concern for most voters. Nearly nine in 10 respondents say the issue will inform how they vote in November.