Health Insurance Blog

In the recently released US News & World Report commercial health plan rankings (which takes into account both customer satisfaction and a number of different healthcare related measures such as disease prevention), The top 10 Wisconsin health insurance plans were ranked as follows.

1. Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin - driven by very high scores in both disease prevention and treatment
2. Security Health Plan of Wisconsin
3. Unity Health Plans
4. Network Health Plan
5. Dean Health Plan
6. Medical Associates Health Plan
7. WPS Health Plan
8. Medica - Serving Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, and North Dakota
9. United HealthCare
10. Humana

Not all of the Wisconsin health plans listed above offer individual health plans (non-group health coverage), if you are a Wisconsin resident and shopping for a health plan for you and your family, you can find more information about Wisconsin health plans for individuals here.

The 2008 presidential election is now in he books, but there are still a number of states that have health care reform initiatives with unknown results.

A rundown of pending and decided state health care initiatives is as follows:

• Arizona’s Proposition 101 would prohibit the passage of any law that would prohibit an individual from having the freedom to purchase a family health plan from any private health insurer offering health insurance in Arizona.
• In Wisconsin, legislation appeared to be on the verge of passing that would ensure universal coverage (in the 20+ cities and counties for which it appeared on the ballot)
• South Carolina voted down a amendment to allow state and local governments to invest funds in the stock market funds that are earmarked for retired public employee health benefits.
• Montana voters approved a measure expanding their children’s health insurance program, to increase the household income threshold to $55,000.

President elect Barack Obama vowed while compaining to make sweeping changes to the counties health care system that would make it more affordable and available to Americans.   He will soon be under pressure to begin doing just that, and it will be interesting to see quickly and sharply these changes will take place.

Members of Wisconsin’s Health Insurance Risk Sharing Plan (HIRSP) will experience either no rate increase or a single-digit increase to their health insurance rates in 2009 as a result of changes made to the plan, such as offering high-deductible health plan options.

Founded almost 30 years ago (1979), HIRSP has been Wisconsin’s health insurer of last resort since that date.  HIRSP offers health insurance to Wisconsin residents who, for one reason or another, can’t enroll in adequate and affordable health insurance coverage, from private health insurance companies due to their medical conditions, or because they have become unemployed and no longer have access to health insurance coverage through their employer.

More Information about Wisconsin health insurance options.