With the cost of health care a major issue for many small businesses and families in south central Wisconsin, this week positive news was announced to help address this topic that deserves attention. This week, the Healthy Solutions Cooperative (HSC) took a significant step in the creation of a small business health care cooperative in Green County by selecting its insurance carrier.
HSC is comprised of dedicated, local business people that have been volunteering a significant amount of their time to tackle rising health care costs. The Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives also has played an integral role in HSC's development.
Over the past few months, I've been working with these local leaders to promote the HSC. HSC will be a health care cooperative (co-op) with the goal of pooling area small businesses. Up until this point, the lack of a commitment by a major insurer was the missing piece of the puzzle that was slowing the process down. However, just this week HSC announced that its committee voted unanimously voted to select Dean Health Plan as its insurance carrier. HSC has set a goal of Jan. 1, 2009, as the effective date.
After learning lessons from previous attempts to make health care cooperatives work, they are now proving to be an effective tool to provide good health care coverage without the significant increases in yearly premiums.
Health care co-ops allow large groups such as farmers and small business owners to join together to purchase health care coverage. By pooling their resources, the larger group has the ability to negotiate lower costs and have reduced risk, than they would individually.
In 2003 a state law was approved that authorized health care co-ops, but only in a few restricted areas around the state. After achieving success in select areas, I co-authored bipartisan legislation, which broke down the barriers and allowed health care co-ops to expand. In 2005, Governor Doyle signed these bills, Acts 30 and 231, into law, thereby allowing health care co-ops to be created throughout all areas of Wisconsin.
In addition to the HSC, there is more positive news to report. The Farmers' Health Cooperative of Wisconsin celebrated its one-year anniversary earlier this year with over 2,200 members, more than double the expected enrollment. Utilizing the co-op legislation that was passed into law, and a federal grant secured in large part by U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, the Farmer's Health Co-op of Wisconsin allows farmers and agribusinesses across the state to purchase their health care as a group. This market-based program is the first of its kind in the U.S., and has resulted in lower yearly rate increases than the national average - a significant accomplishment.
The Farmers' Health Co-op of Wisconsin doesn't work for everyone, but its overall success does prove that health care co-ops can play an important role in lowering the cost of health care. For more information please contact me, or you can call (800) 539-9370 or visit www.farmershealthcooperative.com.
While we all would like faster results, positive things are happening to lower health care costs in Wisconsin. To continue our progress, it will take more hard work by dedicated people and innovative market-based ideas.
I will continue to promote heath care co-ops and similar measures designed to cut health care costs by promoting consumer driven health care.
HSC is comprised of dedicated, local business people that have been volunteering a significant amount of their time to tackle rising health care costs. The Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives also has played an integral role in HSC's development.
Over the past few months, I've been working with these local leaders to promote the HSC. HSC will be a health care cooperative (co-op) with the goal of pooling area small businesses. Up until this point, the lack of a commitment by a major insurer was the missing piece of the puzzle that was slowing the process down. However, just this week HSC announced that its committee voted unanimously voted to select Dean Health Plan as its insurance carrier. HSC has set a goal of Jan. 1, 2009, as the effective date.
After learning lessons from previous attempts to make health care cooperatives work, they are now proving to be an effective tool to provide good health care coverage without the significant increases in yearly premiums.
Health care co-ops allow large groups such as farmers and small business owners to join together to purchase health care coverage. By pooling their resources, the larger group has the ability to negotiate lower costs and have reduced risk, than they would individually.
In 2003 a state law was approved that authorized health care co-ops, but only in a few restricted areas around the state. After achieving success in select areas, I co-authored bipartisan legislation, which broke down the barriers and allowed health care co-ops to expand. In 2005, Governor Doyle signed these bills, Acts 30 and 231, into law, thereby allowing health care co-ops to be created throughout all areas of Wisconsin.
In addition to the HSC, there is more positive news to report. The Farmers' Health Cooperative of Wisconsin celebrated its one-year anniversary earlier this year with over 2,200 members, more than double the expected enrollment. Utilizing the co-op legislation that was passed into law, and a federal grant secured in large part by U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, the Farmer's Health Co-op of Wisconsin allows farmers and agribusinesses across the state to purchase their health care as a group. This market-based program is the first of its kind in the U.S., and has resulted in lower yearly rate increases than the national average - a significant accomplishment.
The Farmers' Health Co-op of Wisconsin doesn't work for everyone, but its overall success does prove that health care co-ops can play an important role in lowering the cost of health care. For more information please contact me, or you can call (800) 539-9370 or visit www.farmershealthcooperative.com.
While we all would like faster results, positive things are happening to lower health care costs in Wisconsin. To continue our progress, it will take more hard work by dedicated people and innovative market-based ideas.
I will continue to promote heath care co-ops and similar measures designed to cut health care costs by promoting consumer driven health care.
