Health-care costs called a crisis
10:59 PM 10/28/03
Ken Singletary Assistant business editor

MILWAUKEE - A panel of business, health-care and goverment officials agreed that rising health-care costs constitute a crisis, but they differed on how to rein in those costs. <

The panel, which has been studying health-care costs for six months, presented its findings at the fourth annual Wisconsin Economic Summit here Tuesday. <

Health-care costs are a "dark cloud," said Don Davis, chairman and chief executive officer of Rockwell Automation, "that is truly threatening the vibrancy of our local businesses." <

Davis said companies in southeast Wisconsin may pay as much as $6,000 per employee each year in health-care costs, while the national average is $4,800. During 2004, costs are expected to rise by 23 percent for businesses in southeast Wisconsin and 13 percent for the nation. <

Behind the rising costs are trends ranging from greater use of technology to unhealthy lifestyle choices, the panelists said. Alan Jacobs, president and chief executive officer of the WEATrust, said technology has increased costs in health care by prolonging lives, breeding the need for more technology. <

Health care is not a market-driven field in which supply and demand determine price, said Linda Reivitz, nursing faculty associate at UW-Madison. Instead, an increase in supply choices, such as hospitals, drives up demand and increases costs. <

The group said a primary method for addressing rising costs is better-informed consumers. <

Chris Queram, chief executive officer of the Employer Health Care Alliance Cooperative in Madison, said more information needs to be provided to consumers about their health-care choices. He recommended a health literacy campaign. <

And he said health-care providers and consumers should share in decision making and collaborate in care more than they have. <

Mary Starmann-Harrison, regional president and chief executive officer of St. Mary's Hospital in Madison, said valid health-care data that everyone can understand is needed. At the same time, consumers need to take more responsibility for their lifestyle choices, the panelists said. <

Excessive alcohol use, overeating and tobacco use are leading causes of preventable illnesses, they emphasized. <

David Newby, president of the state AFL-CIO, called for a public-private partnership that reduces administrative and prescription-drug costs, which he called exorbitant. <

State Rep. Gregg Underheim, R-Oshkosh, said the Legislature can work to make information more available and useful to consumers, and can help create more competition in the health-care marketplace. However, he said, lawmakers are cautious and need "a voice of moral authority" to guide them. <

The state's universities can take on that role, he said, by asking "thorny, specific and challenging questions" even if they may entail risk. <

The two-day economic summit at the Midwest Airlines Center, drew 775 people. Sponsored by the University of Wisconsin System and a host of state businesses, Tuesday's sessions also included talks on the state's economic challenges and the performance of key industry clusters. <