Contact: Senator Jon Erpenbach, 608-266-6670
“I was pleased the co-chairs of the Joint Committee on Finance have announced they reject Governor Walker’s high risk self-insurance scheme for the group insurance plan. The 250,000 people concerned about who will be their doctor and how this scheme would affect them can breathe a sigh of relief.”
“Governor Walker responded to this news by claiming this plan would have saved taxpayers money. That assertion is uncertain at best. The Group Insurance Board had three different assessments of what a self-funded plan could mean for taxpayers. Only one consultant said taxpayers “may” save money. In reality, the risk of costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars clearly weighs on the co-chairs.”
“While the Governor merely has to propose a balanced budget, the Legislature actually has to pass one. We simply need more Legislative oversight of schemes like this that could permanently affect out private health care marketplace and the people of this state.”
