Badger Institute supports resolution now being circulated in the Capitol |
Nine years after then-Gov. Scott Walker signed legislation lifting a moratorium on building new nuclear power plants, Rep. David Steffen and Sen. Julian Bradley are circulating a joint resolution supporting expansion of nuclear energy production in Wisconsin. Steffen said Thursday there are several reasons the state needs to support nuclear energy right now.
“We are going to be in dramatic need of energy production, with Microsoft alone,” he said, referring to the Microsoft data center now under construction in and around Mount Pleasant. “That single campus will be pulling more power than the city of Madison.” |
By John Torinus & Tom Hefty
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We just received another wakeup call on health care in Wisconsin, where costs are too high, public health outcomes have plummeted, and our governor has hit the snooze button.
In the latest edition of America’s Health Rankings, published Jan. 28, Wisconsin ranked 33rd in health outcomes. The Badger State fell from 12th best in health outcomes in 1990 to 19th in 2019 before a change in methodology, to 33rd today. Wisconsin’s ranking for children’s health outcomes is even worse, dropping to a record low of 39th in 2024. Health costs, meanwhile, have soared to more than $25,000 a year per family of four. |
Legislation permits direct primary care to complement insurance |
Healthcare spending continues to grow. Fortunately, a bill being considered in Madison this week, SB4, and companion bill AB8, provides a solution that could make it both cheaper and more accessible via direct primary care. Under DPC, patients receive care from physicians or other providers without the involvement of insurance. DPC and insurance are complementary, though. Patients can choose to use their insurance for more expensive procedures.
DPC is not meant to replace insurance and is not insurance — so should not be regulated as insurance. Regulating DPC as if it were insurance would restrict providers’ flexibility to innovate and at least partly negate DPC’s cost and service advantages that stem from having less overhead for expenses such as the large buildings, infrastructure and administrative staff of hospitals. |
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More than 30 other states have already enacted laws similar to the one now again being considered in Wisconsin. A similar bill was considered in the last session but failed to make it out of the Senate.
There’s good reason to hope it has more success this time around. It is good for consumers to learn that they can sometimes pay cash and sometimes use insurance, and that the two approaches are complementary. While incumbent players in an anticompetitive healthcare system might resist, direct payment will control costs while empowering patients, physicians and employers that pay for benefits. |
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Wisconsin ranked seventh among the states in beer production by volume through the first three quarters of 2024, data from the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau show. Craft breweries represent about a tenth of Wisconsin’s beer output. In 2023, there were 266 craft breweries in the state, producing over 770,000 barrels, according to the Brewers Association. |
WSAU: WI Morning News | 2.13.25 |
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Wisconsin state legislators recently introduced a bill that calls for providing free breakfast and lunch for all schoolchildren. A closer look reveals this measure is push by advocates of expansive government to fund programs for households that likely do not need them. |
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An executive order from the president is shining national spotlight on parental choice and education freedom. A recent piece from The Federalist references Jim Bender, education consultant to the Badger Institute, and analysis conducted by Patrick McIlheran, the Institute’s Director of Policy.
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- “Longtime Wisconsin parental choice advocate Jim Bender said that despite all the challenges, the national trend toward school choice is picking up steam. The abhorrent scores in the latest national assessments exposing the damage done by teachers union-led school closures during Covid will serve to create more momentum for choice moving forward.”
- “Milwaukee Public Schools spends more than $18,000 per pupil, even as the district’s enrollment has fallen off over the past 25 years, according to a review by the Badger Institute.”
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Weekly survey: What is the most romantic spot in Wisconsin?
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Badger Institute
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Milwaukee, WI 53204 |
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