Gov. Jim Doyle announced the creation of a Wisconsin Office of Health Care Reform at Meriter Hospital Wednesday, which he said will help facilitate the statewide implementation of the recent national health-care bill.
""I am directing the office to develop a plan that uses national reform to build our successes, and ensure that Wisconsin residents and businesses realize the benefits that this reform makes possible,"" Doyle said.
Doyle detailed the reforms that will take place this year, including prohibiting insurers from denying coverage to children with pre-existing conditions, dropping someoneafter having gotten sick, and providing tax credits to small businesses to help provide health care for their employees.
""The tax credit, which is effective immediately, could cover up to 35 percent of the premiums that a small business pays to its workers,"" Doyle said.
Although Doyle said he is optimistic about these reforms, Republican Party of Wisconsin Communications Director Kristin Ruesch said that ""what we're seeing here is more bureaucracy from Gov. Doyle on a bill that is questionably constitutional.""
Ruesch said Wisconsin has some of the highest-quality health care in the country, but that Wisconsin would bear the financial burden for other states with greater health care troubles.
""What is in it for Wisconsin?"" Ruesch said of the national health-care bill. ""Higher premiums and higher taxes.""
However, Doyle said Wisconsin's superior health care is an advantage.
""Many states do face a lot of challenges. They do not have a BadgerCare program that covers the levels of people that we do,"" he said. ""We are ideally situated to continue to be a leader in the country.""
Doyle also said one of the long-term benefits for Wisconsin will be the creation of a health-insurance exchange. He said the exchange would take the form of a ""consumer friendly website"" with ""true apples to apples comparisons"" of available insurance offers.
""The health care reform is real. Millions of Americans and millions of Wisconsinites are immediately positively affected by this,"" Zielinski said.
