About 95 WPS employees will lose their jobs by the end of the year because a state Health Insurance Risk-Sharing Plan (HIRSP) that WPS administered is coming to an end on Dec. 31. The cuts are part of a larger plan to eliminate a total of 175 jobs at WPS over the next year.
According to a report in the Wisconsin State Journal, the state insurance plan is ending because the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance exchanges will offer similar coverage as of Jan. 1. Other reasons cited were federal health reform, automated claims processing technology, and decreased premiums. WPS employs about 2,900 people, with about 2,100 in the Madison area.
