High health care costs are hurting Wisconsin’s business climate and making employers less competitive, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) reports. According to the Wisconsin Employer Survey, 44% of state employers saw health care costs increase by more than 10% over the last year. Another 41% of businesses saw costs go up between 6–10%.
WMC conducted the survey over the first three weeks of July on a variety of topics. These high costs come at a time when general inflation has increased by more than 20% over the last few years, making it harder for businesses to invest in their employees and equipment.
The 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 that these high prices have resulted in higher costs for customers, lower compensation for employees, and less capital investment.
When asked about the one thing the state government could do to help their business, employers’ 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.
