Wisconsin 2018 Health Insurance Rate Spike Can Be Avoided With BadgerCare Public Option

MILWAUKEE, Oct. 13 -- Citizen Action of Wisconsin issued the following news release:

On a media call today legislators, health advocates, and consumers made the case that the large health insurance rate increases announced yesterday are completely avoidable if Wisconsin adopts the BadgerCare Public Option bill introduced in the Legislature this summer. A recording of the media call can be found here.

The bill would also protect Wisconsin consumers from the impact of the reckless executive orders President Trump announced yesterday which are designed to sabotage the Affordable Care Act.

The BadgerCare Public Option Bill (Assembly Bill 449/Senate Bill 363), authored by State Rep. Eric Genrich (D-Green Bay) and State Sen. LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee), would give Wisconsinites the option of purchasing BadgerCare on the Affordable Care Act marketplace.

An analysis of 2017 and 2018 rates by Citizen Action of Wisconsin released on the media call found that not only could the rate spike be avoided, but that Wisconsinites who buy health insurance on their own would pay substantially less than current rates.

According to the Citizen Action of Wisconsin analysis, a 40 year old buying a silver plan on the ACA marketplace would see a dramatic reduction of 24 percent in their premiums and deductibles in 2018 if they could buy into BadgerCare (see Figure 1 below). In some Wisconsin cities the savings would be almost 40 percent. This contrasts sharply with the over 50 percent increase the same 40 year old will face in 2018 with the private health insurance options which are available now.

Key Findings (full metro area charts below)

* Comparing the most common health plan (2nd lowest cost silver) for a 40 year old within Wisconsin metro areas, total health spending on premiums & deductibles could be 24 percent lower with a BadgerCare Public Option than current private coverage

* Meanwhile, because of the outright sabotage of the healthcare marketplace by the Trump Administration, premiums alone will be increasing between 29 percent (Superior) to 105 percent (Green Bay) by private insurance companies. Click here for table from the Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner showing all 2018 premiums for 72 counties

* Most consumers will not see this skyrocketing premium cost directly because of the Affordable Care Act's premium tax credit. 81 percent of Wisconsinites who use Healthcare.gov for individual plans qualify for a premium tax credit

"President Trump's unprecedented sabotage of the American health care system this week has created a crisis that state officials must immediately address to protect the lives and livelihoods of Wisconsin families," said Robert Kraig, Executive Director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin. "Governor Walker and the State Legislature have it within their power to both dramatically reduce the cost of health insurance, and protect Wisconsinites from and disruption of coverage that could result from President Trump's reckless actions. It is time for Walker and the Legislature to stop playing politics with health care and immediately pass the BadgerCare Public Option bill."

See table here (http://www.citizenactionwi.org/wisconsin_2018_health_rate_spike_can_be_avoided_public_option).

"As premiums sky-rocket with President Trump's continued work to sabotage the health insurance market, Governor Walker cheers from the sidelines, providing no solutions for our citizens," said Eric Genrich, State Representative (D-Green Bay). "In contrast, we are advancing a tested, high-quality option by offering Wisconsinites access to BadgerCare, the health care plan we are all invested in."

"This is a crisis for the patients we serve and the members we represent", said Candice Owley, registered nurse and president of the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses & Health Professionals. "We were already deeply concerned with the cost of care and skyrocketing medical debt, and this latest news will only cause consumers to delay care even further and make us all sicker."

"I buy an individual plan without subsidies. I am a small business owner and there are many of us entrepreneurs who rely on the Affordable Care Act for coverage", said Alice Thompson, who owns an environmental consulting company in South Milwaukee. "Now I wake up to the knowledge that I could be paying $1,200 a month for health insurance. That's more than my mortgage! A BadgerCare Public Option seems like a responsible and life-saving idea to me."

Click here for a 72 County chart from the Wisconsin Commissioner of Insurance of 2017 and 2018 2nd lowest cost premium data for a 21 year old (note, does not include deductibles or other out of pocket costs). To determine the cost for a 40 year old, multiple the premium about by 1.28

Data on other areas/counties of the state can be provided upon request, email Kevin.kane@citizenactionwi.org to inquire about particular regions of Wisconsin.