From WisPolitics.com/WisBusiness.com …
— Rates for individual health insurance plans on HealthCare.gov will jump 21.7% in Wisconsin next year, according to the state Office of the Commissioner of Insurance.
The state agency today announced the weighted average increase for the 2027 plan year ahead of the open enrollment period starting Nov. 1.
This increase would have been as high as 33% without the Wisconsin Health Care Stability Plan, a reinsurance plan that leverages federal funding, the agency says.
Next year’s increase comes after expanded premium insurance subsidies expired at the end of 2025, which OCI notes has impacted plan availability and affordability on the marketplace.
For 2027, the agency says no insurers are leaving the state’s health insurance market and a new option is being offered off the marketplace. A total of 12 insurers will participate for next year’s plan year, while two insurers are offering plans off-marketplace that are compliant with the Affordable Care Act.
In the 2025 open enrollment period, a record 313,579 customers in Wisconsin signed up for coverage on the individual market, OCI notes. But that total fell to 291,336 during the 2026 enrollment period “due to market destabilization driven by federal actions,” the agency says.
See the release below.
— Wisconsin hospitals provided more than $2 billion in uncompensated care in fiscal year 2025, marking a 15% increase over the prior year.
The Wisconsin Hospital Association today released its annual guide to hospitals in the state, as well as its latest report detailing uncompensated care activities. This category of care includes both charity care and bad debt, when the hospital expects payment but can’t collect.
During the prior fiscal year, hospitals in the state provided about $1.8 billion in uncompensated care. And in the one before that, fiscal year 2023, the total was below $1.4 billion.
Authors note about one-fourth of Wisconsin’s hospitals make up a substantial portion of the charity care portion. Of the 170 hospitals in the state, 42 each reported $5 million or more. That group collectively provided $887.9 million in charity care, making up 86% of the state’s total for the year.
Meanwhile, 55 hospitals incurred bad debt exceeding $5 million, the report shows. Those hospitals had $814.2 million in bad debt, making up 81% of the $1 billion total incurred by all hospitals in the state.
University Hospital in Madison had $114 million in bad debt for fiscal year 2025, while Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee had $68 million and Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center in Milwaukee had about $41 million. No other hospital exceeded $35 million for this measure.
WHA notes this increase in uncompensated care is mirrored by rising hospital expenses, which increased 9.3% overall in fiscal year 2025. That includes a 12.2% jump in supply and service costs. Half of the state’s hospitals reported lower operating margins over the year.
See the release below.
— This week’s episode of “WisBusinesss: the Podcast” is with Kelly Thompson, president and chief operating officer of First Choice Dental.
The dental clinic operator yesterday announced three practices under Milwaukee Dental Partners have joined its group. As of this week, Oakbrook Dental in West Bend, Jackson Family Dentistry in Jackson and Sauk Trail Dental in Saukville are part of its network, which now has 20 locations.
First Choice Dental was founded in 1996 when a group of three dentists in the Madison area combined their practices, and has largely grown by starting up new clinics over the years.
Thompson says “now we’ve entered into a new avenue” with the acquisition of the Milwaukee sites. The company opened its first office in Rock County earlier this year, and also brought on a corporate development specialist to handle mergers and acquisitions.
“We really wanted to expand our opportunities outside of Dane County … and knew that we wanted to be moving closer to the Milwaukee market, working our way east,” he said.
Looking ahead, the business aims to continue growing through acquisitions and is targeting opening another new office in the Pewaukee area in the near future.
“We want to complement that growth in Milwaukee … and we’ll continue to look through the state for other opportunities, for like-minded practice leaders that look and feel like a First Choice Dental office,” Thompson said.
The conversation explores some of the factors the company’s leaders look at when assessing a particular market.
“Is it a growing community? Is it an underserved community? Do we feel we can add providers, and add access in those communities as well,” he said.
Meanwhile, Thompson weighs in on a shortage of dental hygienists the industry has been grappling with for years. The COVID-19 pandemic worsened the issue, he said, but emphasized First Choice Dental’s efforts to recruit and retain these professionals at its offices.
“The more rural you get, the more challenged you are with provider staffing,” he said.
Listen to the podcast here and see the full list of WisBusiness podcasts.
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