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Shubert raises concern over health care costs for state retirees 

A state senator - one of the six Republican candidates for governor - contends that state officials are ignoring an approaching crisis: health care costs for retired state employees.

Sen. Fern Shubert, R-Union, said in a news conference Friday that her fellow lawmakers are "intentionally closing their eyes to a known problem" that North Carolina doesn't set aside regular contributions to a trust fund for those expenses.

Those health costs could soon reach more than $10 billion in the coming years.

Shubert is the primary sponsor of a measure that would require money from the Golden LEAF Foundation go into such a fund.

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