The state's largest health insurance provider would have to release restrictions on a trove of data for its biggest client, the State Health Plan for government employees, under a bill that moved forward Wednesday.

The change would bring a new advantage to the plan as it negotiates rates, according to State Treasurer Dale Folwell, whose office oversees the State Health Plan.

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Folwell has been skirmishing with Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, which administers the multibillion-dollar plan, for years, seeking more access to the data and other concessions.

Blue Cross negotiates deals for the State Health Plan with hospitals around the state, setting discount rates for various procedures. Without more access to that data, Folwell said Wednesday, the health plan can't tell whether it's paying what it should.

"We are the customer,” Folwell said this week, in a statement backing House Bill 169. The bill moved through one committee Wednesday and on to another for more discussion.

“It’s our data, and we should be able to use it to negotiate lower health care costs for not only teachers, public safety workers, state and local employees, but legislators as well," Folwell said. "Right now, we can’t even be certain that we’re getting the full benefit of negotiated prices from Blue Cross."

Blue Cross' lobbying team didn't speak against the bill Wednesday, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're not working against it. The company said in a statement this week that it is "committed to providing information to the State Health Plan regarding the cost of health services."

A spokesman noted a 2016 law that gives the plan "fully transparent information on the billed amount, allowed amount, and paid amount for each claim."

"In fact, we were the first insurer in the country to make in-network prices available to the public by publishing a cost comparison tool," the spokesman said. "We will continue working with the plan to find ways to lower costs for its members.

Treasurer's Office spokesman Frank Lester said the 2016 law Blue Cross referenced "created part of the problem we are asking the General Assembly to solve.

"It added language into the statutes that gives an unfair advantage to Blue Cross in contract negotiations with the state," Lester said in an email. "HB 169 levels that playing field by removing language that prevents the State Health Plan from using its own data to negotiate rates, fees and charges without permission from Blue Cross."

Update: Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina provided an updated statement two days after this story, saying the company is against the bill as written and is seeking an amendment to require other insurers to be included as well. That statement says in part:

"We are committed to working with the Treasurer on legislation that would increase the State Health Plan’s ability to use provider rate data more broadly, but we cannot support language that would allow the State Health Plan to reveal these rates to competitors without requiring the same transparency from all insurers. For transparency to work, it must apply to every insurer in the state, not just one.

"Federal transparency rules will soon go into effect that will require increased transparency for all insurers. We look forward to working with the State Health Plan to align state law with these new requirements and to ensure that the Plan has the information they need to provide quality and affordable health care to state employees."