"Healthy Wisconsin"'s Cost Increases

Let's not talk about the initial proposal--which only runs about $15 billion, delivered.

Let's talk about how that number grows.

It grows because there will be all sorts of pressure groups with all sorts of ideas about "health."

J.P. Wieske, director of public affairs at the Council for Affordable Health Insurance, helps compile an annual list of health insurance mandates imposed by the states. . . . Some of the benefits companies have been forced to cover include: in vitro fertilization, morbid obesity treatment, and lockjaw disorders. Some states require coverage of specialists including acupuncturists, pastoral counselors, marriage therapists, and massage therapists. Additionally, several states have imposed so-called "slacker mandates" allowing parents to keep grown children on their health-care policy until the age of 30. . . .

The report that Wieske co-authored estimated that such mandates can add anywhere from 20 percent to 50 percent to the price tag of a health insurance policy, depending on the state and the type of mandate

Think it can't happen here?

Well, in a State whose largest County employs UNION-ONLY grass-cutters, you think wrong.