The North Carolina House Select Committee on Health Care on Tuesday proposed measures to make health care in the state more affordable and accessible, the AP/Wilmington Star News reports. According to the AP/Star News, the committee proposed capping the amount counties must pay to Medicaid each year. Currently, North Carolina is the only state that requires counties to pay a fixed percentage of the state's Medicaid bill, expected to be $470 million for the fiscal year ending June 30. The state would pay $30.4 million to fund the difference created by the cap in 2007, as well as $34.6 million to aid counties with high numbers of Medicaid beneficiaries. In addition, the committee recommended providing incentives -- such as tax credits for small businesses -- for employers to provide health insurance to workers. Other recommendations include creating a high-risk pool to enable medically uninsurable residents to buy health coverage; providing incentives for self-employed workers to insure themselves; reducing premium rates; and reforming various medical malpractice laws. Committee co-chair Bob England (D) said, "It will probably be at least a good step, a major step, in addressing the overall problem, which we've heard about today, our fragmented system." David Thompson, a spokesperson for the N.C. Association of County Commissioners, said the state Medicaid funding would "provide counties a much-needed break from the escalating Medicaid costs that are consuming county budgets and keeping many counties from adequately funding their school facility needs" (AP/Wilmington Star News, 4/12).