2017 Wisconsin Health Insurance Cost Ranking |
Health - Articles for Health and Life |
Written by Citizen Action of Wisconsin, Kevin Kane |
Thursday, 22 December 2016 14:04 |
http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/affordablecareact-s5.jpgFor the 3rd year in a row, Citizen Action calls on the Walker Administration to stop hiding Healthcare.gov insurance rates from consumers. STATEWIDE - Citizen Action of Wisconsin released its 11th Annual Wisconsin Health Insurance Cost Ranking report Wednesday morning on a statewide media call. A full audio recording of the media call can be downloaded here. The full report includes 11 charts ranking the cities and regions of Wisconsin on health insurance costs, rate of inflation, and quality, and can be downloaded here. This year’s report finds wide disparities between higher and lower cost regions of Wisconsin, as well as large differences in the rate of health insurance inflation, causing some Wisconsinites to pay thousands of dollars more than others in less expensive regions of the state. New in this year’s report is an analysis of the rate of health insurance hyperinflation in each Wisconsin city before and after the Affordable Care (ACA) was fully implemented. The report finds that the rate of health insurance hyperinflation was over 7x higher in the 13 years before the implementation of ACA than it has been in the 4 years since (15% per year statewide before vs 2% per year after). In some Wisconsin cities, the decline in the rate of inflation is even more dramatic. These results call into question the claim that the health care law caused health insurance rates for most health consumers to dramatically increase, and the contention that repealing the ACA will lower the cost of health coverage. Overall, the report finds that Wisconsin health insurance premiums for large and medium sized employers have more than tripled since 2000, increasing 226% since the year 2000 statewide, and as much 381% in some areas.
Additional data and 11 ranking charts ranking each metro area in Wisconsin are available in the full report which can be downloaded here. “The striking numbers in this report make it clear that state lawmakers need to move beyond the divisive debate over the Affordable Care Act and put a sharp focus on making health care truly affordable,” said Robert Kraig, the report lead author and the Executive Director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin. “It is absolutely stunning that health insurance premiums have tripled since 2000, yet the Governor and the Legislature are doing nothing to address the crisis. Wisconsin workers and families will not have full control of their own health care decisions until we make health coverage affordable for everyone in Wisconsin.” Before President-elect Trump and Governor Walker go around the state talking about repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, first off they need to show what they are going to replace it with," said State Senator Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton). "If you repeal the health law, over 22 million Americans will lose their coverage. If it's repealed we're looking at huge unchecked health inflation once again. I would caution Governor Walker and President Elect Trump to be cautious with people's' health." My youngest daughter has had epilepsy since she was ten and I have a few minor conditions, but in our small business we could not get private coverage because of our pre-existing conditions and were relegated to the state's High Risk Pool", said Tammy Wolfgram, small business owner of Songbird Hills Golf Club in Hartland WI. "We were paying the High Risk Pool over $1,000 per month with a high deductible that went up each year. When the Affordable Care Act started we didn't need to worry about being rejected because of our pre-existing conditions. Before the law I couldn't find insurance for an 11 year old, that is very concerning." |
Last Updated on Friday, 23 December 2016 07:16 |