WisBusiness TUE News Summary

— The newest episode of “WisBusiness.com: The Show” features an interview with Jeff Ebel, co-founder of the Wisconsin River Business Angels, who describes angel investing in central Wisconsin.

Also, Tom Still discusses the “Wisconsin Perception Survey,” and Liz Schrum presents this week’s Tech Metrics, which chart key indicators in the Wisconsin economy.

Watch the show:

http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Article=362010

— The state’s housing market once again performed well in November, with increases in both home sales and median prices.

The latest data from the Wisconsin Realtors Association found 4,784 closed sales last month, 3.4 percent higher than November 2014. That brings the total home sales so far this year to more than 71,000, an increase of roughly 7,000 from this point last year.

At this rate, Wisconsin will see more than 75,000 home sales in all of 2015, breaking that mark for the first time since 2005, said WRA Board Chairman K.C. Maurer.

The median house in Wisconsin cost $150,000 in October, the association said, a 3.4 percent increase from November 2014.

See more:

http://wisbusiness.com/1008/151221Realtors.pdf

— A new Citizen Action of Wisconsin report encourages state lawmakers to tackle disparities in health care costs across the state.

The report from the liberal-leaning group found while large-group health care costs have risen 216 percent statewide since 2000, the increases varied from 170 percent in Madison to 365 percent in Green Bay.

Those numbers should be a “wake-up call to policymakers” to accept the Medicaid expansion, boost reviews of insurance rates and control prescription drug prices, said lead organizer Kevin Kane. The state should also create its own health insurance marketplace, rather than opting for the federal Healthcare.gov exchange, he added.

“Doing nothing is not an option,” Kane said. “The state has to take action.”

The 10th Annual Wisconsin Health Insurance Cost Ranking report analyzed costs across Wisconsin cities in the individual, small group and large group insurance markets. It also combined premiums with deductibles for the first time, which the group said accounted for plans where deductibles have increased more than premiums.

Madison, the report found, has the lowest annual cost at $7,234 in the three combined markets. The statewide average is $8,415, while the most expensive metro was Milwaukee at $9,456, followed by Racine, Wausau and Stevens Point.

See the release:

http://www.citizenactionwi.org/2016_wisconsin_health_insurance_cost_ranking

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