Affordable Health Care
Escalating health care costs are taking a
toll on our nation, our state, and our
communities. While many of the needed health
care reforms must be addressed at the
national level, expanding options to
increase affordability for working families
and small businesses must be a legislative
priority. By putting decisions in the hands
of people instead of government, we can
lower health care costs without jeopardizing
care.
Wisconsin has been a leader on state health
care reform measures. Health Care
Cooperatives are being touted as a model of
reform in other states. BadgerCare Plus
serves as the largest overhaul of health
care programs in over thirty years and with
it, Wisconsin has one lowest rates of
uninsured in the nation. Under BadgerCare
Plus, every child in Wisconsin has access to
affordable health care. The Governor
deserves credit for his initiative that drew
bipartisan support.
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ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Health Care Cooperatives (2003 Act 101& 2005
Act 231): Harsdorf authored successful
legislation to enable the creation of health
care cooperatives. Such cooperatives enable
small groups and individuals to band
together to purchase health care as a group,
leading to better coverage and competitive
pricing. Health care cooperatives have been
held up as a model for national reform and
drawn bipartisan praise. The first statewide
cooperative, designed by the Wisconsin
Federation of Cooperatives for farmers and
agribusinesses, exceed expectations with
over 2,000 members at the end of its first
year. A recent one-year celebration in Eau
Claire drew praise from state and federal
leaders including U.S. Senator Herb Kohl,
who was instrumental in getting federal
support for the project. At the event State
Senator Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) called
this reform a “shining example” while State
Senator Kathleen Vinehout (D-Alma) lauded it
as a “big step” forward in delivering
affordable and accessible health care.
Governor Doyle’s office presented citations
to members of the Board of Directors, of
which Harsdorf served, commending their
“exceptional effort in creating the nation’s
first health care cooperative.”
BadgerCare Plus (2007 Act 20):
Consolidated the state's Medicaid, Healthy
Start and BadgerCare programs for low-income
families and children while simplifying
enrollment. The new program also enables
families whose children were not eligible
for existing state programs to buy health
insurance through the state, with cost
varying based upon family income. Investing
in the health of all Wisconsin children is a
sound and right investment.
Tax-free health care premiums (2005 Act
25): One provision increases the current
individual income tax deduction (50% to 100%
effective 2006) for health insurance
premiums paid by an individual whose
employer does not contribute toward the
individual's health insurance. The other
creates a deduction for health insurance
premiums paid by an individual with no
employer and no self-employment income
(phased in to 100% deduction by 2009).
Preserved SeniorCare: Wisconsin was a
leader in enabling seniors access to
affordable prescription drugs, and
SeniorCare was preserved after a bipartisan
effort to continue this option for Wisconsin
seniors.
Defeated state government takeover of
health care. Would have lead to a new
double-digit, job killing payroll tax on
working families and small businesses. As
importantly, border communities would face
inequities and a “new tax for nothing” while
jeopardizing the quality of care by handing
our health care decisions over to Madison
bureaucrats.
ACTION
Health Care Security & Savings
• Catastrophic
Care: Reinsurance would help stabilize
premiums while enabling safety-net for
businesses that enroll high-cost employees.
• Expansion of
health care cooperatives: Organized a
presentation to expand co-op care for
western Wisconsin small businesses.
• Tax free health
savings accounts: Empower consumers to hold
down prices on health care. Enrollment in
HSAs has doubled to over 6 million people
nationwide in the past two years.
• Increase
competition with new tax credits for private
insurance purchase: Provide state tax
credits for those that purchase insurance in
the private market. Puts families in charge
of health care to make it more affordable,
innovative, and portable.
• Preserve
SeniorCare & BadgerCare Plus as means to
enable access to affordable health care for
seniors, children, and working-class
families.
• Tort Reform:
Support common-senses limits on medical
malpractice lawsuits.
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