Michael Best Strategies shared insights into the latest developments in health policy in Wisconsin and Illinois. We also provided a preview of the 2018 elections at The Alliance Health Policy Year in Review on March 8 at the Monona Terrace in Madison, Wisconsin.
Our healthcare experts Karen Timberlake and Nathan Houdek represented Michael Best Strategies on the panel.
“Tracking developments in health policy is important not just because of the direct impact on Alliance members and their employees’ health benefits,” said Timberlake. “It is also important because state and federal governments shape the healthcare landscape through their choices as healthcare purchasers, as well as regulators. And, policy is made by policymakers, so keeping up-to-date on the upcoming 2018 elections helps The Alliance understand how the health policy landscape may evolve.”
Michael Best Strategies partners with The Alliance to increase visibility of health policy decisions in the Wisconsin and Illinois legislative and executive branches, as well as recommend policy platforms and resolutions.
The Wisconsin executive branch, Wisconsin State Senate and Wisconsin State Assembly have spent much of the 2017-2018 legislative session focused on the state budget, Foxconn, welfare reform, and the Governor Walker’s Health Care Stability Plan. There are multiple outstanding controversial pieces of legislation such as juvenile justice reform and school safety.
Many of the Wisconsin issues differ from those in Illinois, where legislators have been focused on the Illinois Hospital Assessment Tax Program, managed care, and combatting the opioid crisis. The March 20 Illinois primary election may bring in new leadership with the governor/lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, and other elected seats up for grabs.
