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This column is the first part of a two part series on health care in Wisconsin.

In our state today there is no issue that demands our attention more than health care.
Whether I am spending time on a family farm, visiting small businesses, or talking with
seniors, I hear the concerns about the rising cost of health care and its affect on our
standard of living. I understand and share these concerns and this is why I have made
affordable and accessible health care one my top priorities as your State
Representative.

According to a recent survey by The Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health
Research and Educational Trust, a non-profit research organization, the cost of health
insurance offered by employers rose on average by 7.7% nationally in 2006, the
slowest rate of increase since 2000. The increase was down from 9.2% last year and
marked the third straight year that the cost of health insurance has risen at a slower
rate. That’s the good news.

The troubling news is that a recent survey released by the United Benefits Advisors, a
group of independent benefit consultants and brokers, shows health insurance
premiums in Wisconsin increased above the national average at 10.3% last year,
compared with an 8.7% increase in 2004.

Uwe Reinhardt, a health economist at Princeton University, noted that this year's
national average increase of 7.7% would roughly double the cost of health insurance in
10 years. This news is particularly concerning because, with costs rising so rapidly, it
means more Wisconsin residents will likely enter the ranks of the uninsured. According
to the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services, there were over 500,000
Wisconsinites, or 10 percent of our population, without health insurance for all or part
of 2004.

We simply cannot allow for this trend to continue. Individuals, businesses, civic
organizations and governments at all levels need to be actively involved in the
conversation about ways to bring our health care costs under control and get access to
health insurance to people that cannot afford it.

As your State Representative, one initiative I have worked on that may be part of the
health care solution, is a program called Co-Op Care. Co-Op Care was started by the
Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives and allows farmers, small business owners, and
the self-employed to join together when purchasing health insurance. As a group these
individuals are able to negotiate for lower insurance costs. The program will place
significant emphasis on promoting healthy lifestyles.

Through two pieces of legislation that Governor Jim Doyle signed into law, I have been
actively working to allow the expansion of Coop-Care throughout Wisconsin. Having
started in late 2003, the plan originally was only available in five regions of the state. In
less than 3 years, we have already begun to see success throughout Wisconsin.
Brown County has recently signed up approximately 240 businesses and will cover
roughly 7,500 insurable lives. This market-based approach is a significant step toward
realistic change.

While there are many details to work out, State Senator Jon Erpenbach and I are
working, along with a steering committee of dedicated people from Green County, to
bring Coop-Care to Green County. While I understand Co-Op Care may not be the
immediate solution to all of our health care problems, this program is a positive step
towards our ultimate goal of making health insurance more affordable and accessible.

Like the work on Co-Op Care, we must continue to search for practical solutions that
will benefit residents across our state. Regardless of the path we take, it is important
we begin to lower the burden on Wisconsin residents. Working together I know we can
find a long-term solution to our health care crisis.

Now for this week’s Wisconsin trivia question:

Who was the first governor of Wisconsin?

Make sure to check back next week for the answer. The answer to last week’s question
is 2 billion. Each year in Wisconsin 2 billion pounds of cheese is produced.

I want to hear from you so please feel welcome to express your thoughts or let me know
if I can be helpful to you in any way by calling 888-534-0080, e-mailing me at Rep.
Davis@legis.state.wi.us or by writing or stopping by 308 North, State Capitol, Madison,
WI 53708.