From WisPolitics.com/WisBusiness.com …
— WMC has launched a digital ad campaign spotlighting healthcare costs in Wisconsin and touting GOP guv hopeful Tom Tiffany’s work to “make healthcare affordable” for families in the state.
The 30-second ad says hospital costs in Wisconsin are 26% higher than in Illinois, arguing “Wisconsin families can’t afford hospital markups.” A narrator says Tiffany is working to improve healthcare affordability and urges viewers to “call Tom Tiffany, thank him for supporting hospital price transparency.”
Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce yesterday announced the ad from the WMC Issues Mobilization Council, saying it’s running statewide on digital platforms. In the release, WMC says hospital costs in Wisconsin are the fourth-highest in the nation, and overall healthcare costs are the second-highest.
“Healthcare is one of the only services consumers pay for without knowing the price upfront,” the group wrote. “This lack of transparency is a major reason costs remain so high.”
See the release below.
— U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan and dozens of other lawmakers are urging federal officials to delay new international mail procedures for prescription medicines, warning 2.3 million Americans could lose their ability to get drugs from other countries.
Pocan, a Democrat representing the state’s 2nd CD, led the letter with U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Illinois and more than 70 members of Congress.
Writing to the leadership of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the FDA and Customs and Border Protection, the lawmakers warned new CBP procedures taking effect Oct. 22 could disrupt medical treatments coming from Canada and other countries.
Under the new procedures, international mail shipments subject to FDA requirements will have to be filed electronically through CBP’s Automated Commercial Environment system, according to the letter.
While the lawmakers say they support the agency’s goal of using better tracking data to intercept “high-risk” shipments, they’re concerned the new process could keep personal-use prescription medicines from making it into the country.
They’re calling on the federal agency leaders to ensure the new Customs regulation “does not prevent Americans from obtaining genuine, non-controlled prescription medicines from licensed pharmacies when those medicines do not appear to present an unreasonable risk.”
The letter also requests various information about how the new policy will be implemented, asking what data agencies will gather about incoming medicines and whether it will be made public, among other questions.
See the release below.
— State officials announced employers in Wisconsin will now pay 1.97% less on average in worker’s compensation insurance rates, resulting in $36 million in estimated savings over the coming year.
The state Department of Workforce Development and Office of the Commissioner of Insurance yesterday said this year’s rate decrease is the 11th in a row. These rates are adjusted annually by a committee of actuaries from members of the Wisconsin Compensation Rating Bureau.
DWD cautions that actual premiums vary by employer based on various factors such as likelihood of injury on the job.
See the release below.
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