THU AM News: WMC survey finds 69% of businesses affected by higher health care costs; WisBusiness: the Show with Bre Loughlin, Nurse Disrupted

September 26, 2024

— More than two-thirds of Wisconsin employers in a recent WMC survey say higher health care costs are affecting their business, as some businesses cut compensation and capital investments.

Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce recently released its latest Wisconsin Employer Survey, tapping 182 businesses of various sizes by email and traditional mail.

Forty-four percent of surveyed businesses reported their health care costs increased more than 10% over the last year, while 41% saw an increase between 6% and 10%.

WMC Associate Vice President of Government Relations Rachel Ver Velde says employers in the state are “at an extreme disadvantage” due to the cost burden of health care. Among respondents with locations in other states, 54% said their health care costs are higher in Wisconsin than the other states in which they operate.

“Instead of investing their limited resources into increased employee compensation or expansion of their companies, business leaders are having to pay for higher and higher prices for health care,” Ver Velde said in a statement.

When asked how higher health care costs are affecting their business, the top response from employers was reduced profitability, followed by higher costs for customers, reduced compensation, reduced capital investment, and greater difficulty with attracting talent from other states.

Meanwhile, respondents indicated making health care more affordable is the No. 1 thing the state government can do to help their business, followed by reducing or reforming regulations, reducing taxes, education reform and more.

WMC also found widespread support for legislation to require hospitals to publicly post their prices “so consumers can make purchasing decisions based on value,” with 96% of respondents in favor. Likewise, 95% of respondents said they support limiting how much health care providers can charge for procedures under the worker’s compensation program.

“Our employers are hurting, and there are policy solutions we know will work to make health care more affordable,” Ver Velde said. “We urge policymakers to strengthen Wisconsin hospital price transparency laws and enact a medical fee schedule. Both policies would improve our state’s economic competitiveness and help employers who are facing record-setting inflation.”

See the report.

— The latest episode of “WisBusiness.com: The Show,” features Bre Loughlin, founder and chief executive officer of Nurse Disrupted.

This early-stage business was a category winner in a recent Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest. Loughlin talks about trends in virtual nursing care and what it can mean for patients and health care institutions alike.

“It’s an incredible science, it’s one that is complex, and it’s one where a lot of us do burn out, and then if we’re lucky enough, we do come back,” she said. “The other thing that happened, and that happened exponentially during the pandemic, is early retirement.”

This has led to a loss of “intellectual capital” in the nursing profession, Louglin said, and the Nurse Disrupted system is meant to help address that trend.

The show also previews upcoming events hosted by the Wisconsin Technology Council.

Watch the show and find more episodes.

— August home sales in Wisconsin declined 4.7% over the year as the state’s home price rose 8% to $324,000, according to the latest Wisconsin Realtors Association report.

The report, being released today, shows 6,721 homes were sold last month, compared to 7,055 in August 2023. WRA points to lower inventories as the driving factor for both the lower home sales and higher prices, with the report showing a 2.7% decline over the year in months of inventory.

Meanwhile, total statewide listings for the month saw a small increase over the year, rising 1.3% from 20,277 to 20,532.

“Growth in new listings was solid during the first five months of the year, but the summer has been a different story,” WRA President and CEO Tom Larson said in the report. “New listings weakened in June, had a small rebound in July, but fell back again in August.”

Still, report authors note the year-to-date picture “reflects solid sales growth and strong price appreciation” as home sales through August 2024 were up 5.3% over the same period of 2023.

At the same time, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dipped from 6.85% in July to 6.5% in August, giving buyers a more favorable borrowing rate. That rate was 7.07% in August 2023, the report shows. But even though the mortgage rate picture has improved over the year, the state’s “significant price appreciation” coupled with “only slight gains” in median family income led to home affordability remaining low.

Mary Jo Bowe, chair of WRA’s board, says high mortgage rates “make it really tough” for first-time buyers to enter the market as they rely more on financing than those moving from an existing home.

“So it’s good to see mortgage rates come down, and hopefully these trends continue,” she said.

Also in the report, WRA consultant and Marquette University Prof. Emeritus Dave Clark notes the recent Federal Reserve 0.5 percentage point rate cut “signals the Fed is now more concerned with a weakening labor market than inflationary risks.” If inflation remains controlled, he predicts more rate cuts when the Federal Open Market Committee meets again in November and December.

See the report.

— Gov. Tony Evers and WHEDA have announced the launch of the fourth and final component of a $525 million package approved a year ago to help create more affordable housing.

The $50 million loan program aims to help repair and improve old homes.

More Like Home will offer homeowners in houses over 40 years old low-interest loans of $5,000 to $50,000 to make structural repairs and energy-efficiency updates. These include “roofing, insulation, plumbing, electrical, heating, and air conditioning” improvements.

“Through this program, we are reinvesting in our older housing stock to stabilize property values and make housing safer, more stable, and more secure for Wisconsinites in every corner of our state,” Evers said in a press release from his office announcing the launch.

Evers has called the housing bill “one of the largest investments in affordable housing in state history.”

The release says around 60% of Wisconsin’s single-family homes were built before 1984, and touts the program’s impact for Wisconsin seniors, which it says will be able to remain in their homes for longer if able to make “high-cost repairs” due to the program’s support. According to WHEDA CEO and Executive Director Elmer Moore Jr., the repairs will help in “sustaining and enhancing communities, improving quality of life, and promoting social and economic stability.”

The three previously launched programs from the housing bill offer loans to support:

Building housing infrastructure;
Turning old commercial space into housing; and
Turning vacant second and third floors into housing.

See program details and the release.

— A Madison startup called Axio BioPharma is now offering protein manufacturing services out of its operations at Forward BIOLABS.

The company recently announced the new service, which focuses on research-grade manufacturing of antibodies for companies developing new biologics, according to the release. CEO and founder Justin Byers says the company aims to be “the preferred partner” for these businesses as they develop life-saving therapies.

“By combining our expertise with flexible production scales, we are able to support our clients throughout various stages of their research and development,” he said in a statement. “We understand the challenges in bringing new therapies to market, and we’re here to make that process faster and more efficient.”

See the release.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

Sign up here.

— This year’s Wisconsin Economic Summit will focus on trends in AI, entrepreneurship and innovation, WEDC announced.

The third annual event, being held Oct. 15-16 in La Crosse, features speakers from the UW Foundation, GE HealthCare, American Family Insurance, Kimberly-Clark and others. Day one will focus on the role of innovation in the state’s economy, while the second day will explore the impacts of AI on various industries.

“Our goal for the summit is to present a different view of the Wisconsin economy than what you would see at other conferences,” said Missy Hughes, secretary and CEO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.

See the release.

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