A Roadmap for Healthcare Reform In Wisconsin

By Dan Sem, Ph.D., J.D.

and Scott Niederjohn, Ph.D.

The challenge of improving healthcare has gained attention across the nation. Proposals advanced in Wisconsin and elsewhere seek to reduce healthcare costs, maintain quality and increase accessibility. This report examines the economics of healthcare, considering both demand and supply in the market.

The United States currently does not have an efficiently functioning market for healthcare, and that is especially true in Wisconsin, where even basic direct primary care legislation that was adopted in a majority of states has yet to pass. The reasons for this inefficiency of healthcare delivery will be considered along with the trade-offs that all healthcare public policies must face.

Finally, with action unlikely at the federal level to improve healthcare markets, we advance a set of principles that should be followed in any healthcare reforms considered by Wisconsin policymakers. With some of the highest quality healthcare in the country, also ranking second for best doctors (but not as high for health outcomes), Wisconsin can also lead the way in innovating the more efficient delivery of affordable and accessible care.

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