Wisconsin Health Plan Study Raises Questions...

There are many questions about the Lewin Study and the Wisconsin Health Plan.

So far, we have heard, through the press, that the Study affirms this is a great idea, will save money for everyone and answers the health care needs of all but 17,000 people in Wisconsin.

All this begs details to support these conclusions that appear to have been drawn by the WHP creators. Rep. Jon Richards (D-Milwaukee) is trying to “fast track” his WHP but is trying to do so without sharing all the facts.

What we haven’t seen or heard is what questions were asked of the Lewin Group? Were those questions agreed to by all member organizations referenced in the press releases? Have there been changes made to the original Plan? Have there been critical questions asked but not answered? If so, what were those questions? Posed by whom? Etc., etc. etc.

Stay tuned. We’ll continue to dig for answers.

National Association of Health Underwriters Offers SCHIP Position...

Congress is currently in the midst of reauthorizing the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), the state/federal block grant program that funds health insurance coverage for low-income children. It is this program that funds Wisconsin's BadgerCare plan for children. The National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU) feels that during the reauthorization process, Congress has a great opportunity to make it simpler for states to voluntarily use SCHIP dollars to subsidize private group coverage for eligible children who have access to such private coverage through their parent's employer.

Doing so would have the following benefits:

More families would accept employer-sponsored coverage for their children, lowering the number of uninsured children.

The administrative burden on low-income families would be lessened, as families could be covered together on the same health insurance plan.

It would reduce the “crowd-out” of the private market that occurs when parents decline employer-sponsored coverage in favor of SCHIP coverage for their dependents.

It would lower costs by taking advantage of any premium dollars employers are willing to contribute toward their eligible employee dependent premiums—money that is now often “left on the table.”

It would also reduce SCHIP costs because the risk associated with covering the children with employer-sponsored coverage would be borne by the private market plan rather than the public program.

Licensed health insurance producers, who are already helping millions of business owners purchase health insurance coverage for their employees nationally, could provide outreach and enrollment assistance at virtually no cost to the SCHIP program.

We believe this is a wise approach and urge that our state Senators and Representatives give careful consideration to these points.