Under current law, section 146.905 of the Wisconsin Statutes prevents Wisconsin healthcare providers from offering to reduce or eliminate copays, coinsurance, or deductibles that are required under an insurance policy. The Wisconsin Hospital Association says that this section of the statute prohibits healthcare providers from offering discounts to patients who pay their bills promptly.
Legislation introduced with the support of the Wisconsin Hospital Association during the 2023-24 session would repeal section 146.905 altogether. This version of the bill, like previous versions of the bill, makes no attempt to define “prompt” or put guardrails around the amount of discounts that can be offered. In fact, the most recent proposal doesn’t include a single mention of prompt, theoretically giving providers the authority to reduce or eliminate patient cost sharing altogether.
According to prior public testimony in support of similar legislation, the intent is to keep the discount between a provider and a patient, without informing a health plan that a discount has been given.
Of course, allowing discounts off healthcare charges sounds like a wonderful idea to policymakers. But what they don’t see is the wide variations in the cost of care delivered here in Wisconsin. And they may not know that today, Wisconsin employers are creating plan designs that reward employees and their family members who choose high quality care with lower costs. And employers are investing thousands of dollars into advanced primary care and care navigation solutions to help their employees and their families when making these decisions.
This strategy, which has saved employers millions of dollars in healthcare costs, won’t work if deductibles and copays become meaningless.
High-value plan design is a win for employees and families, it’s a win for employers and it’s a win for healthcare providers who deliver high-value healthcare. But the proponents of this legislation are trying to negate this work and undercut consumerism. And while they may say this bill is about encouraging patients to pay bills promptly, it is telling that the legislation does not include any limitations on discounts or any mention of “prompt.” It also does not expressly prohibit providers from advertising discounts to induce care. If you support free market healthcare and want to preserve employers’ ability to design benefit plans that encourage the use of high-value care, please make your voice heard. Join us and talk with your legislators. We’ve proven we can be successful in stopping bad ideas from becoming law if we make our voices heard.