MADISON – High health care costs are hurting Wisconsin’s business climate and making employers less competitive. According to the Wisconsin Employer Survey, nearly half – 44 percent – of Badger State employers saw health care costs increase by more than 10 percent over the last year. Another 41 percent of businesses saw costs go up between six and 10 percent. These high costs come at a time when general inflation has increased by more than 20 percent over the last few years – making it harder for businesses to invest in their employees and equipment. Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) – the combined state chamber and manufacturers’ association – conducted the survey over the first three weeks of July on a variety of topics. The Wisconsin Employer Survey also found that Wisconsin is an outlier when it comes to high health care costs. Fifty-four percent of business leaders said their health care costs are higher in Wisconsin than other states they operate in. This supports data from a recent study showing that Wisconsin has the fifth-highest hospital costs in the country. Additionally, employers said in the WMC survey that these high prices have resulted in higher costs for customers, lower compensation for employees and less capital investment. “Wisconsin employers are at an extreme disadvantage when it comes to health care costs,” said WMC Associate Vice President of Government Relations Rachel Ver Velde. “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.” Employers are unified that something needs to be done to bring down high health care costs. When asked what is the one thing state government could do to help their business, the top answer was to make health care more affordable. In addition, there is near unanimous support for hospital price transparency and a workers compensation medical fee schedule – similar to what 45 other states have already done. “Our employers are hurting, and there are policy solutions we know will work to make health care more affordable,” added Ver Velde. “We urge policymakers to strengthen Wisconsin hospital price transparency laws and enact a medical fee schedule. Both polices would improve our state’s economic competitiveness and help employers who are facing record-setting inflation.” The Wisconsin Employer Survey is conducted twice a year by WMC. The assessment provides a snapshot of where Wisconsin’s employers stand on a number of important issues and outlines their economic outlook for both Wisconsin and the United States. For the Summer 2024 edition, WMC surveyed 182 employers that make up a representative sample of its membership. Businesses of all sizes, industries and geographic locations in Wisconsin participated.
