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Federal Judge Upholds Milwaukee County's Partial Shift of Health Costs to Retirees

"Milwaukee County's move to charge its retirees for some health care costs -- a change made in 2012 that shifted millions of dollars in costs from taxpayers to retirees as well as active employees -- was upheld in federal court Tuesday.... '[B]ecause there is insufficient evidence that the county was legally obligated to provide cost-free as opposed to premium-free health insurance to [the plaintiff retiree], the court is unable to grant her relief," [the] ruling says."

Some Milwaukee Workers Get Cash to Offset Higher Pension Costs

The extra cash for Redevelopment Authority and Housing Authority workers is intended to keep their compensation on par with that of regular city employees who don't have to make the pension contributions, and who work side-by-side with authority employees doing similar jobs, the spokesmen said.

Rising Pension Benefit at Age 50 Might Hurt Milwaukee County

A pension benefit that allows Milwaukee County employees to retire at 50 or in rare cases even younger carries a price tag of up to $90 million - much higher than the estimate given when the benefit was approved in the 1990s.

Milwaukee County Settles Pension Case for $45 Million

Excerpt: The Milwaukee County Board approved a $45 million settlement of the county's pension lawsuit against Mercer Tuesday, following a nearly two-hour closed-door session. The vote in favor of settling the case in mid-trial was 18-0. There was no public discussion of the settlement, but supervisors broke into applause after the vote. The Pension Board approved the settlement on an 8-0 vote shortly after supervisors acted. Members of the board exchanged hugs with some of the lawyers who handled the case following that vote. The county expects to receive about $32 million after paying its attorneys and litigation costs, officials said. The funds, by previous resolution, will go to the county's pension fund.

Commuter Benefit Plans Increasing

Excerpt: As of March, 4,011 Milwaukee-area employees had value passes, subsidized by 65 employers. That matches the highest ridership in the program ever and is up 8% from the same time last year, said Jackie Janz, marketing director for Milwaukee County Transit.

High Healthcare Costs Caused in Part by Power of Healthcare Systems, Wisconsin Study Says

Excerpt: High health care costs in the Milwaukee area stem from the market power of health care systems, according to a study by the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute. The study contends that health care systems have increased their market power by employing physicians, which gives them a referral base for their hospitals, which makes it harder for would-be competitors to enter the market.

Only One State Treats Mental, Physical Disability Coverage Equally

"In the other 49 states, long-term disability benefit claims for physical ailments -- cancer, arthritis, stroke -- are assessed differently than mental health issues -- major depressive disorder, anxiety, PTSD and eating disorders. For 99% of group disability plans sold in the United States, long-term disability benefits for a behavioral health condition max out at 24 months, often leaving those with severe and persistent mental health symptoms in dire straits."

Financial Woes of Teamsters' Pension Fund Hurt Employers, Too

"The 225,000 people facing possible cuts in their retirement benefits, some of them on the order of 50% or more, are by far the most numerous and visible victims of the Central States Pension Fund troubles. But the fund's deep financial woes also have left hundreds of companies with large potential liabilities essentially because they have survived where others failed. In some cases, a company's rapidly growing obligations to the fund can make that company difficult to sell, and even threaten the firm's underlying assets[.]"

Health Insurers May Prove Choosy with Exchanges

"The leader of the nation's largest health insurer warned Thursday not to assume widespread participation from his company in part of health care overhaul's coverage expansion that unfolds later this year.... 'We will only participate in exchanges that we assess to be fair, commercially sustainable and provide a reasonable return on the capital they will require,' he said.... [H]e estimated that UnitedHealth will participate initially in roughly 10 to 25 exchanges, when at least 100 might be set up."

Wisconsin Bill Would Require Listing of Medical Procedure Costs

Excerpt: The state Senate and Assembly have passed legislation that will require hospitals to disclose average prices for the 75 most common inpatient services and 75 most common outpatient services based on their contracts with commercial health plans. The legislation also requires the same information be disclosed for the 25 most common services provided by free-standing outpatient facilities, such as surgical and imaging centers, and by doctors.