Wisconsin Coalition Seeks Equity In Federal Health Care Funding

To increase its share of funding for Medicare and Medicaid, Competitive Wisconsin Inc., a consortium of business, labor, farm and education leaders concerned with the state's economic development, has formed the Medicare-Medicaid Equality Coalition, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The coalition, an alliance of health care, medical, business and aging groups, hopes to help the state secure higher Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates to offset increasing insurance premiums. Health care premiums are expected to increase 15% nationwide this year. Rates have increased 20% in southeastern Wisconsin this year, the fourth year in a row for double-digit increases. Susan Turney, medical director of patient financial services at Competitive Wisconsin coalition member Marshfield Clinic, said the rise in health care premiums stems from Medicare reimbursement rates that only cover 70% of patient health costs. The rest is passed on to other payers, including insurance companies and employers. "The cost-shifting that occurs because Wisconsin has historically been shortchanged by federal formulas means businesses and workers have picked up almost $1 billion a year, which the federal government sends to other states," Cobalt Corp. Chair Thomas Hefty, who is leading the coalition's push for increased reimbursements, said. The lower reimbursement rates are affecting access to care, particularly in rural areas, according to Turney. She added that clinics find it difficult to compete for physicians, nurses and other health professionals and to purchase new technology. Competitive Wisconsin President Jim Nellen said, "Wisconsin is put at a competitive disadvantage. This is not just an issue of medical care providers who want to be adequately compensated for their services. [It] means less money in our economy, as well as shifting those costs to private payers." George Quinn, vice president of finance for the Wisconsin Health and Hospital Association, said that the state will work with other "less politically powerful states" in the upper Midwest with similar reimbursement problems to address the issue. Quinn said, "Finding other states in the same situation as Wisconsin and collaboratively working on this is where success lies" (Manning, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 8/21).