Rising healthcare costs remain a chief concern of Wisconsin businesses, hindering reinvestment, talent attraction, and economic competitiveness, according to Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, which released a new video on the topic.
Wisconsin’s hospital costs are the most expensive in the Midwest and rank fourth highest in the country. In the video, Gamber Johnson’s Vice President of Human Resources Phillip Blair says the high healthcare costs are a hinderance in attracting both employees and other employers into the state.
“Healthcare costs rank in the top three to five business expenses for us, and that means less opportunity to invest money back into our employees and back into business,” Blair said. “That hurts employees with higher deductibles, higher out-of-pocket maximums, and larger co-pays.”
When asked how state government could help businesses in a recent survey, more than half of respondents said healthcare in Wisconsin is more expensive than in other states they operate in, and 70 percent reported these costs are hurting their bottom line.
“Healthcare transparency is the foundation for what we believe to get control of healthcare costs,” Blair said.
WMC’s Rachel Ver Velde said that while federal rules introduced in 2021 require more transparency, only 30 percent of Wisconsin hospitals are fully compliant. State legislation, similar to laws passed in other states like Colorado, would require hospitals to post prices.
