Health insurance companies will pay North Carolinians $8.5 million in rebates. It's the latest round of payments required under Obamacare if insurers spend too much on profits or administrative costs.
Starting in 2011, the Affordable Care Act required insurance companies to spend at least 80 percent of their premium revenue on actual health care. In the market that includes employer insurance, the requirement is 85 percent.
If they don't hit that target, they have to cut their customers a check or reduce their future premiums. In North Carolina, United Healthcare, Cigna and Golden Rule are among the companies paying out at least half a million dollars.
All told, about 160,000 North Carolinians will get a rebate. The average per family is $81, well below the national average of $129.