— Health insurance networks in more than two-thirds of Wisconsin counties don’t meet certain federal standards for pediatric care access, according to the state Office of the Commissioner of Insurance.
OCI yesterday released its Wisconsin Individual Health Insurance Market Analysis report, conducted by consulting firm BerryDunn for the agency as part of an effort to reduce the number of uninsured state residents. It’s the last of a series of studies commissioned on this topic, the agency said in the release.
Among other findings, the analysis found insurance networks in 52 Wisconsin counties don’t meet pediatric primary care access standards set by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The agency notes that standard is impacted by rural patient behaviors, as they typically access care through a family practitioner rather than a pediatrician.
It also found health insurers’ networks in 34 counties don’t meet CMS standards for OB/GYN access, which requires the presence of both pediatricians and obstetricians-gynecologists, the report shows. Rural family practitioners are more likely than those in urban areas to provide obstetrical deliveries, newborn care, and pediatric care.
“The findings in this report will assist us in our work to ensure that every person who enrolls in health insurance coverage can access the care covered by their plan,” Insurance Commissioner Nathan Houdek said in a statement.
Forty-seven percent of the state’s 312,000 uninsured residents are estimated to be eligible for Marketplace-based premium tax credits, while 28% are estimated to be eligible for Medicaid or BadgerCare, according to the report. The ongoing open enrollment period for 2024 coverage runs through Jan. 15.
The statewide uninsured rate was 5.5% in 2020, though people with lower incomes as well as people of color and Hispanic or Latino residents are “substantially” less likely to be insured.
While Clark and Menominee Counties have the highest percentage of uninsured residents — at more than 20% each — more populated areas of the state house a larger number of these people.
“The numbers of uninsured in Milwaukee, overall, and for its racial and ethnic subpopulations, far exceed the total population of uninsured residents in any other Wisconsin county,” report authors wrote. “Milwaukee has 54,665 uninsured residents, and Madison has 9,898 uninsured residents — both substantially higher than Clark and Menominee Counties.”
The report shows adults aged 18-34 years represent a shrinking segment of individual market enrollees in Wisconsin, making up a large portion of the uninsured population. Report authors say targeted efforts to boost enrollment in this age range “will improve the individual risk pool and help reduce premium rates overall — attracting enrollment by others and further reducing the uninsured rate.”
It also includes a section on the Medicaid unwinding process, taking place following the end of the continuous coverage requirement enacted during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Medicaid/BadgerCare enrollment rose 28% from January 2020 to March 2022, gaining 296,000 members, as disenrollment and eligibility redeterminations were temporarily halted during the pandemic.
Report authors reference a 2021 Urban Institute study that projected states would return to pre-pandemic coverage levels by the fourth quarter of this year. It found about one-third of adults losing Medicaid may be eligible for subsidized Affordable Care Act marketplace plans.
Still, projections of future marketplace enrollment in the state “do not indicate expectation of substantial net growth” despite the ongoing unwinding process.
See the full report: https://oci.wi.gov/Documents/Consumers/Market_Analysis_Final_Report_Aug2022.pdf
See the release: https://www.wispolitics.com/2023/office-of-the-commissioner-of-insurance-releases-new-study-analyzing-network-adequacy/
<br><b><i>Top headlines from the Health Care Report…</b></i>
— COVID-19 activity is once again increasing in Wisconsin, according to hospital figures and wastewater monitoring by state health officials.
And state officials are now taking applications for the latest round of grants supporting veteran mental health programs.
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— State agencies and municipalities would be barred from offering the fastest EV charging stations to the public under new proposals sponsors say are aimed at accessing $79 million in federal EV charging grants.
State law currently only allows companies regulated as utilities to sell electricity. That means private citizens and businesses with an EV charging station can’t collect payment from someone who uses their current. The federal government only allows private businesses to take advantage of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program.
One Republican-authored proposal circulated yesterday would allow private businesses to sell electricity by the kilowatt-hour at all EV charging levels without being regulated as utilities.
Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, said there’s no good reason for “gas stations, grocery stores and others who want to offer EV charging for sale to be regulated like a utility.”
“This bill changes the law to allow for EV charging without this cumbersome regulation,” he said. “The bill also requires retailers to purchase their power from a utility and to collect an excise tax per kilowatt-hour that will be dedicated to the state’s Transportation Fund like the gas tax.”
The new tax would collect $0.03 per kWh and distribute it into the state Transportation Fund.
Each kWh for residential users in Wisconsin costs about $0.17 in September this year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That number for commercial users is about $0.13.
Municipalities would be barred from owning, operating, managing or leasing level 3 or higher charging stations, unless the charger is used only for charging municipal vehicles. Local governments could still offer free access to lower charging levels under the bill.
For example, the city of Madison would not be allowed to offer level 3 or higher charging to the general public, but Madison Gas & Electric would, as long as no taxpayer dollars are used to build the stations.
The prohibition on state-owned chargers would go even further, seeking to bar all agencies from owning, operating, managing or leasing all levels of charging unless the stations are only used for state vehicles.
Level 3 chargers are the fastest currently available, offering from 50 kilowatts per hour up to 400, while level 2 chargers provide between 7.4 and 22 kW per hour and level 1 stations, commonly referred to as home wall chargers, only offer between 1.3 and 2.4 kW.
The Tesla Model Y crossover is the best-selling EV in the country, according to EV Magazine. It comes with battery sizes that range from 60 kW to 81 kW and a driving range of between 260 and 330 miles, according to Tesla.
The other bill would authorize the Department of Transportation to accept the $78.6 million slated for Wisconsin from the NEVI program. DOT would then distribute the grants to private entities.
Created by the $1 trillion sweeping infrastructure law in 2021, NEVI includes $5 billion for EV charging network expansion.
See the release:
— Forward BIOLABS is touting the expertise of its newly unveiled advisory board, which offers insight and support to the Madison-based organization’s leadership.
The co-working space, which specializes in life science laboratories, first launched its pilot program in 2018 before moving to a larger space. Its goals include supporting the state’s biotech ecosystem and helping life science startups get off the ground earlier.
The group today is officially announcing the 22 members of the board, though many have been involved with Forward BIOLABS from the very beginning. That’s according to CEO and co-founder Jessica Martin Eckerly.
“They did more than talk, they got involved in a meaningful way that really helped Forward BIOLABS not just come to fruition, but also helped sustain it, bring it to where it is today,” she told WisBusiness.com yesterday in an interview. “And most of all, all of these advisors want to see Wisconsin entrepreneurs and startups be successful.”
Eckerly said she reaches out to individual advisory board members “on an as-needed basis” to get their input on local, regional and national industry trends.
She spotlighted some of the advisors who played a key role in supporting the organization in its early days, including UW-Madison’s Forward Bio Institute Director Bill Murphy, Gilson CEO Nick Paris, Findorff Vice President of Science and Technology Robert Hougard Jr., Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation CEO Erik Iverson, and others.
“Their hearts are in it to help these companies, and to see these technologies evolve and be rolled out to people — whether that’s in health care, or in ag tech, water tech,” she said. “They’re excited to see them be successful.”
See the full list of advisory board members here: https://www.wisbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/FBIO-Advisor-Release-11-28-23.pdf
See an earlier story on the co-working space: https://www.wisbusiness.com/2021/forward-biolabs-leverages-coworking-to-support-biotech-startups/
See details on the current group of startups at the Madison facility: https://www.forwardbiolabs.org/member-startups
#TOP STORIES#
# Once the cutting edge of cool, Portland is now taking lessons from Milwaukee
# When will Wisconsinites see relief from high drug prices? A health insurance broker weighs in
# CEO of Bradley Corp. buyer commits to move of production to Milwaukee area, adding local jobs
#TOPICS#
# AGRIBUSINESS
– State grants could help prevent food waste, get excess food to those who need it
http://wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=1028&yr=2023
# CONSTRUCTION
– Prices rise, but mass timber’s appeal remains
– Developer plans renovation of vacant near west side building
# EDUCATION
– Do Green Bay private schools perform better than public schools?
# HEALTH CARE
– COVID-19 hospitalizations jump in Milwaukee County after Thanksgiving
– Alabama health care company opens second Wisconsin hospital
# MANAGEMENT
– Regal Ware chairman and former CEO Jeffrey Reigle dies
# MANUFACTURING
– Fathom Digital Manufacturing could become a private company once again
# NONPROFIT
– Madison music nonprofit says school rental fee could force final note
# REAL ESTATE
– Drugstore, cafe envisioned in $500M Northwestern Mutual building renovation
# REGULATION
– Scam callers using ‘spoofed’ caller IDs would face fines under Wisconsin proposal
# RETAIL
– Miller Lite is releasing a limited-edition Beercracker. It looks like a nutcracker, but has two beer openers.
# SMALL BUSINESS
– Double-feature Kenosha storefront offers sweet and savory catering services
# SPORTS
– Service workers at Lambeau Field scheduled to participate in formal union election Sunday
# TECHNOLOGY
– Milwaukee-based music platform EVEN exclusively releases Bucks star Damian Lillard’s new EP
# PRESS RELEASES
<i>See these and other press releases:
https://www.wisbusiness.com/press-releases/ </i>
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