MADISON – Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, through its affiliate, the WMC Issues Mobilization Council, is sounding the alarm on Wisconsin’s rapidly rising healthcare costs and the growing affordability crisis facing hard-working families across the state with a new ad campaign.
The new 30-second ad, which is running statewide on digital platforms, highlights the excessiveness of Wisconsin’s high healthcare costs and cites a new study showing that hospital prices in Wisconsin are 26 percent higher than in Illinois. Across the state, patients are delaying care because they fear the cost of treatment and often do not know what their medical bills will be.
“What if the car you were thinking of buying, groceries to feed your family, and fuel to heat your home cost 26 percent more than your neighbors right over the border in Illinois?” questions the narrator. “That’s what’s happening in Wisconsin hospitals.”
Wisconsin hospital costs are the fourth highest in the nation, and overall healthcare costs are the second highest. Healthcare is one of the only services consumers pay for without knowing the price upfront. This lack of transparency is a major reason costs remain so high. When employers and patients do not know the price of care, they are left in the dark and unable to make informed decisions.
“Wisconsin families can’t afford hospital markups,” the narrator continues. “Thankfully, leaders, like Rep. Tom Tiffany, are working to make healthcare more affordable for Wisconsin families.”
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