by the journal sentinel's guy boulton wrote this jan. 1 in describing obamacare's health insurance exchanges: "the exchanges could help consumers and small businesses compare competing health plans" and "they also could increase price competition by requiring health insurers to offer more standardized plans and by providing consumers with better information about what they are buying." private-sector free-market insurance exchanges already exist without government intervention or taxpayer subsidies. if you google "health insurance quote," you will find a number of options. there are dozens of companies and hundreds of plan choices with a wide range of monthly costs depending on plan design. i used one of these to purchase insurance for my family, and millions of other people have used them as well. they work without government involvement. the real reason government-run exchanges are being created is to expand medicaid and government-subsidized insurance. how will income or family size be verified on a website? this concept is ripe for fraud and abuse. and the subsidies are so generous that families of four making as much as $89,000 will be eligible for taxpayer subsidies. our nation cannot afford this expensive program. our country is overspending at a rapid and unsustainable rate of $1.3 trillion more than tax revenue annually. the federal debt is $15 trillion (and growing) and now is more than the annual gross domestic product. when we are broke and overspending, it doesn't make sense to subsidize 75% of the people of mississippi or more than half of those with private insurance in wisconsin. those pressing for a state or federal health insurance exchange in wisconsin have misled people by telling them it will produce cost savings for both consumers and taxpayers. a government exchange will increase costs substantially both for consumers and taxpayers. those saying otherwise may have their own interests at heart but certainly not those of wisconsin and its citizens. a million-dollar study commissioned by the administration of former gov. jim doyle told us that after obamacare, nearly 90% of people with insurance will have their costs go up by more than 30%. because of obamacare, about 100,000 wisconsinites will lose the private insurance they have now and will be forced to purchase new insurance. finally, the u.s. supreme court may overturn obamacare, and the elections in november may result in repeal or reform of the law. government exchanges don't have to be active until january 2014. there is plenty of time for the state to act after the supreme court and the voters have weighed in. many other states are waiting for the outcome of the supreme court and elections. true free-market exchanges do exist, and the competition they generate yields positive results. a government-run obamacare exchange is deceptive, ill-conceived and an expensive government expansion that our nation cannot afford at this time or in the near future. remember, the vast majority of citizens have the best health care in the world. truly poor people already have medicaid (free taxpayer-paid health care), and older folks have medicare. the provisions of obamacare will only increase both insurance and taxpayer costs. wisconsin should not participate in this costly federal program until the last possible moment. state sen. frank lasee (r-de pere) represents the 1st senate district.
redrawn senate map passes house, scramble for seats begin