MADISON – Wisconsin employers are plagued by increasingly higher health care costs, according to a new survey of businesses in the state. Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) – the combined state chamber of commerce and manufacturers’ association – released more data from its latest Wisconsin Employer Survey on Tuesday, detailing findings related to state policy. Wisconsin’s health care costs remain the fifth highest in the country, and 88% of survey respondents predict their costs will increase even more this year. Of these, the majority say these increases will necessitate increasing employee contributions. “Wisconsin’s business community has serious concerns about extreme health care costs,” stated WMC’s Executive Vice President of Government Relations Scott Manley. “These costs are not only a competitive disadvantage, as they dip into employee compensation, investment opportunities, and more, but they also hurt Wisconsin families.” According to the survey, the cost of health care is tied with the labor shortage/lack of qualified applicants as the top issue facing Wisconsin employers in 2025. When asked what the one thing state government could do to help businesses, 41% of respondents answered, “make health care more affordable.” As noted in An Arm & A Leg, WMC Foundation’s latest research report, Wisconsin also has the second highest medical payments for workers compensation. “There are simple policy solutions to help make health care more affordable,” Manley continued. “The majority of the business leaders we surveyed expressed that they would like to see fee schedules for the Workers Compensation program and legislation to require health care costs and quality to be transparent and accessible.” In addition to health care policy reform, employers noted that in order to improve the state’s business climate, state government should reduce taxes and reduce regulations. “There is a lot of inconsistency between federal, state, and local regulation,” Manley noted. “Many of these regulations do little more than add cost with no benefit. Employers want greater oversight from the Legislature over unelected bureaucrats who impose expensive regulation.” The Wisconsin Employer Survey found that while the number of Wisconsin businesses having trouble finding workers dropped to its lowest level in a decade, a majority of executives are still struggling. Of those that are, 67% attribute this frustration to the lack of qualified applicants, especially in skilled labor. In the survey, notable support was found for providing financial incentives for K-12 school districts to offer technical education classes and give students opportunities to interact with local businesses as part of their coursework through youth apprenticeships, internships, job shadowing, and other work-based learning opportunities. Seventy-two percent of respondents ranked this proposal as a top policy priority. The expansion of school choice and the expansion of independent charter schools were regarded similarly. 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. Businesses of all sizes, industries and geographic locations in Wisconsin participated.
