Citizen Action of Wisconsin released their 10th annual report of Health Insurance costs. The report shows the impact on health care cost before and after the passing of the Affordable Care Act, and ranks Wisconsin cities based on cost, inflation and quality of healthcare. The report shows Rhinelander’s health coverage is up 220%, only 4% more than the statewide increase since 2000. While Director Robert Kraig says Rhinelander’s health coverage is average, southeast and northwest Wisconsin are the most expensive. He says health care cost could go down if there was more bargaining leverage.
“…We don’t have a strategy on health care costs, which is one of the problems here, and if we did we would try to dig down much more into how to get cost down and get much more parity, because if an area has a much lower health care cost it has a competitive advantage over those areas that are higher; and in this state that would be Madison having that advantage over anywhere in the state.”
Kraig says the biggest disparities are in the individual market. The highest cost areas such as Wausau, Stevens Point and Marshfield are 69% higher than the lowest cost areas making for nearly a $4,500 gap for individual coverage.
He says Rhinelander’s coverage is $1,200 more than Madison a year, but $1,000 less than Milwaukee, and says the disparities between different regions of the state are caused by a non-functioning market.
