Text Box:     Healthy Wisconsin from a Business Perspective

 

Healthy Wisconsin from a Business Perspective

 

 

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

 

All of us are in agreement that the skyrocketing cost of health insurance is a big problem for businesses

 

  • Total health care spending in Wisconsin this year is projected to be $42.3 billion and in the next decade expected to reach $76.9 billion---an 82% increase.

  • Employee premium contributions and out-of-pocket costs are rising faster than wages.

  • Rising costs have led to a decline in employer provided health benefits.  In the last 30 years, private sector Wisconsin workers who receive employer-based health insurance has dropped from 73% to 57% in 2004.

  • Of the $22 billion charged by hospitals in 2005, $736 million was not collected.  That cost has been passed on to the insured, paying customers.

  • Using data from the Institute of Medicine and the Urban Institute, Families USA estimates that between 2000 and 2006 the number of adults between the ages of 25 and 64 in Wisconsin who died because they did not have health insurance was more than 1,600.

 

HEALTHY WISCONSIN -- YOUR CHOICE.  YOUR PLAN.

 

  • REDUCES COSTS- Streamlines administration, cuts waste, lowers drug prices with bulk purchasing, and rewards providers who deliver the most efficient and highest quality care.  In addition it will discourage inappropriate use of the emergency room, closely coordinate care for the chronically ill, reward healthy lifestyles and preventive care, and discourage duplication of expensive technology and buildings.

 

  • RUN BY AN INDEPENDENT PUBLIC / PRIVATE PARTERSHIP- Everyone picks their own doctor and health care network. YOUR CHOICE, YOUR PLAN.

 

  • HOW MUCH?- Wisconsin businesses currently spend about $17 billion on health care premiums for their employees.  The Lewin Group, an actuarial firm, estimates that Healthy Wisconsin will cost $15.2 billion.  That means businesses in our state will spend $1.8 billion less under Healthy Wisconsin.

 

  • HOW WILL WE PAY FOR IT?- A 4% assessment on employees and a 10.5% assessment paid by employers on Social Security wages.  The average employer will pay $370 per employee and the average employee will pay $140 monthly as a payroll deduction, much like Social Security.  Additional costs include a nominal co-pay and deductible.

 

  • HELP FOR SMALL BUSINESSES AND DUAL-INCOME FAMILIES- The newest version of Healthy Wisconsin includes a phase-in for businesses with 10 or fewer employees and a cap on the amount that dual income families have to contribute toward the program.

 

DE-BUNKING COMMON MYTHS ASSOCIATED WITH HEALTHY WISCONSIN

 

We know that there are a lot of people, most of them profiting from the status quo, who are telling you a lot of things that aren’t true about this health care plan.  Below you will find responses to some of the criticisms of ealthy Wisconsin written by Joe Leean, former State Senator (R-Waupaca) from 1984-1995.  He also served as Secretary of the Department of Health and Family Services from 1995-2001 under Governor Tommy Thompson.

 

  1. It is the largest tax increase in state history.  Response:  Because the funding for the plan in assessed on payroll, it is collected as a tax.  But the naysayers are neglecting to point out that the approximate $15 billion collected for this plan eliminates more than $15 billion currently paid by businesses and consumers in insurance premiums.

 

  1. Families will have to change doctors.  Response: Families will have choices of health care provider networks just like legislators and other government and school employees.

 

  1. This is a government-run program.  Response: Not true.  This plan is governed by a board of trustees made up of representatives of large and small businesses, labor, education and agriculture with an advisory group from the health care provider community.

 

  1. This will destroy Wisconsin’s economy and drive away employers and jobs.  Response: Not true. Most businesses currently providing insurance will see an overall reduction in their health care costs.  Businesses not currently providing insurance will incur increased costs but now both the owners and their employees will have affordable health care.

 

HSAs ARE NOT THE SOLUTION

 

  • The high deductibles required to buy HSA-related insurance policies will shift unaffordable costs onto working families.  According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average annual deductible for an employer provided HSA family policy is $4070.  That means families pay $4000 before their insurance even covers them.

 

  • HSAs will double the cost of traditional insurance.  Research by RAND, the Urban Institute, and the American Academy of Actuaries concludes that if HSA use became widespread, premiums for traditional comprehensive insurance could more than double.

 

  • HSAs do not lead to “consumer driven” cost reductions.  Advocates claim that HSAs will lower health care costs by forcing people to make smarter decisions with their health care dollars is not supported by any available research.  In fact, in federal Government Accountability Office focus groups, most employees with HSA related, high-deductible health plans did not research costs before obtaining health care services.

  

For more information about Healthy Wisconsin contact:

State Senator JON ERPENBACH * (608) 266-6670 * SEN.ERPENBACH@ legis.wi.gov