Health Care For All In Bill

Tuesday, April 25, 2006
By Anita Weier The Capital Times
 

Employers would be required to pay a monthly premium and employees would be responsible for deductibles and co-pay costs. Self-employed people, early retirees and others not covered could buy into the plan at cost.

David Newby, president of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, proposed the general outline of the plan years ago, but it has now been refined and officially introduced as a bipartisan bill by Sen. Russ Decker, D-Schofield, and Rep. Terry Musser, R-Black River Falls.

"Its time has come," Decker said at a crowded State Capitol press conference, praising Newby for years of hard work on the plan.

Musser said that so far, health care solution proposals have consisted of "putting a Band-Aid on a hemorrhage. It just doesn't work."

The proposal was developed in consultation with employers, medical experts and community representatives as a way of providing affordable, comprehensive, quality health care, Newby said.

"We will have a product that people can look at, so we have something concrete that can be discussed during the coming election campaigns," Newby added. "We knew we would not get consideration during this legislative session because it is almost over."

Decker said he will work this summer to build a coalition to support the measure when the Legislature meets in January.

Musser predicted that because Newby has developed a solid written proposal with an actuarial cost study, the plan will eventually succeed.

"It rewards people for working and levels the playing field for small companies," he said. "This is win-win."

Details of the plan are available on www.wisaflcio.org. The bill -- S.B. 698 -- will soon be available on the Legislature's Web site, www.legis.state.wi.us.

The bill would establish a Wisconsin Health Care Partnership Plan with basic parameters to be developed in detail by a Labor-Management Oversight Commission, in consultation with health and medical experts.

"Our current health care system simply isn't working," Newby said. "We are paying almost twice as much per person for health care as any other country in the world, yet we are ranked 24th in the world for the healthiness of our population. We don't live as long as people in other industrialized countries (and) more babies die within a year after birth."

Benefits would be comprehensive and cover "all medically necessary care," he said, including inpatient and outpatient hospital costs, physician services, routine physical exams, diagnostic testing, maternity care, emergency care and prescription drugs.

An actuarial study done in 2003 by the Lewin Group at the request of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO found that if the plan been in effect during that year, employers would have paid a flat fee per employee of less than $300. A projection for current costs comes to $340.

Employees and dependents would pay a yearly deductible of $300 for a single person or $600 for a family. Co-pays would be $15 for office visits, $10 for generic drugs and $20 for brand-name drugs.

Those speaking in favor of the bill included the mayors of Menasha and Lodi, who said their cities and taxpayers could save substantial amounts on insurance coverage under the plan. Fond du Lac County Executive Allen Buechel said the county could save $3.5 million per year.

"This is the first real solution offered in our state," he said.

Mike Rayone, human resources manager for Wausau-based Graphic Packaging International Inc., said something has to be done because both employers and employees can't afford to pay much more. "We need to get health care off the bargaining table. It's time to get back to talking about productivity," he said.