Contacts: Stephanie Smiley, DHS (608) 266-5862
J.P. Wieske, OCI (608) 266-2493
MADISON—The Office of Free Market Health Care (OFMHC) today submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on various proposed rules designed to implement the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).
“The proposed regulations demonstrate that PPACA itself is full of conflicts, inequities, and inconsistencies,” said Health Services Secretary Dennis G. Smith. “It is clear that the regulations cannot cure the underlying problems of PPACA. The interaction between Medicaid and new eligibility rules, as just one example, create a tangled web that will affect the lives of low-income individuals in ways that are still unknown and untested. We are also deeply concerned about definitions regarding federal reimbursement that will create a crater in future state budgets.”
“The rules also reveal the federal government itself is not ready for the massive changes ahead,” Smith said. “Time and again, the proposed rules state that further guidance will be provided in the future. That is unacceptable when states are going to be forced to demonstrate readiness starting in 14 months. Congress and the Administration need to reconsider PPACA, as the fundamental design is unworkable as evidenced by the regulations themselves.”
Wisconsin has been a leader and innovator in health care reform for more than two decades. A higher percentage of Wisconsin citizens already have health care coverage than what is expected nationwide. The University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute estimates that nearly 95 percent of Wisconsin citizens have access to health insurance. Wisconsin has achieved this high level of coverage while maintaining a robust and competitive insurance market, without the mandates required under PPACA.
Wisconsin currently has 33 health insurers actively participating in the individual market and 25 insurers in the small group market.
“The competitive nature of our market ensures that insurance costs are manageable and that consumers have a choice. We want to protect competition, retain the role of insurance agents and brokers and give people the tools they need to choose the coverage that is best for them,” said Insurance Commissioner Ted Nickel. “Neither PPACA nor the proposed rule do anything to protect Wisconsin’s competitive market. It is our competitive market that is directly responsible for 95% percent of Wisconsinites having access to affordable health insurance coverage, and we need the tools to ensure that coverage stays affordable. The proposed rule creates a one-size-fits-all approach that ignores the current competitive health insurance market, and does not give us the flexibility to protect the gains under our current health insurance market.”
If PPACA is not repealed, changes must be implemented by 2014.
For more information about the Office of Free Market Health Care, please visit http://www.freemarkethealthcare.wi.gov.
