by Mike Hall, Apr 25, 2006

Affordable, quality health care for all.

Sounds like a good idea, doesn’t it?

In Wisconsin, a coalition, including the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO and other labor, business and government organizations, took a big step toward that goal.

The Wisconsin Health Care Partnership Plan, introduced today in the state Legislature, requires employers to pay a fair share of health care costs for their employees, who would share health care costs through co-payments and deductibles.

In short: The plan reduces health care costs for workers, their families and employers.

The new health care legislation builds on the current employer-provided health care system, but levels the playing field for all employers—public and private—by requiring that they all pay a fair share of the costs.

Along with covering all private and public workers and their families, the Wisconsin Plan would establish a system for self-employed workers, farmers and early retirees to purchase the same health care plan. Overall the plan is expected to reduce the number of uninsured people in Wisconsin from some 500,000 to 85,000.

Says Wisconsin State AFL-CIO President David Newby:

As a result of rapidly escalating costs many employers are discontinuing their health insurance programs. Many others are shifting major proportions of the cost of health insurance to their employees. We are close to the point where neither workers nor employers can afford the cost of health insurance.

The Wisconsin Health Care Partnership Plan is original and bold. But it is also practical, affordable and achievable.

Newby says studies show that if all employers, large and small, public and private, are part of the health care plan, their monthly cost per worker would be about $340, much less than what many employers who currently provide health insurance pay for coverage now.

The plan comes less than two weeks after Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) signed health care legislation that places the financial burden of health insurance on working families. The bill Romney ultimately signed let employers completely off the hook for covering any health care costs.

The Wisconsin Health Care Partnership Plan was developed over four years of meetings and discussions among union, business, health and community groups. The plan is expected to provide coverage for all medically necessary care, including mental health coverage and prescription drugs. It also would allow individuals to choose their providers.

A Labor-Management Commission will develop further details of the plan. For an in-depth look at the Wisconsin Health Care Partnership Plan, click here.

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