Few would argue that health care for everyone is a good thing.Some view health care as a right. Yet the history of employer-provided health care goes back only as far as the Second World War. Employers decided to offer group health insurance coverage to employees as a way to counter the government-mandated price controls/wage ceilings that were in place. While U.S. health care ranks among the best in the world, it’s also true the United States is the only industrialized country that does not provide health care to all of its citizens. Health care for everyone isn’t necessarily an idea that either major political party can claim as its alone. That’s because President Harry Truman, a Democrat, proposed it mid-way through the last century; and, later, President Richard Nixon, a Republican, made a similar proposal. Today when the federal government, occupied with other weighty matters, seems more and more inclined to let states come up with their own ideas of health care for everyone - maybe its time really has come, as Senator Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton), chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, indicated this week. Maybe if Democrats and Republicans in Wisconsin can quit squabbling over whose health care ideas are better; put their more-than-capable heads together and come up with a reliable cost figure - then and only then perhaps things like the state budget can move forward. Agri-View has devoted considerable space already to Healthy Wisconsin, the universal health care measure inserted into the Senate’s budget proposal. The good people in the Assembly prefer a more market-driven approach. They also want to make it possible for patients to know what hospitals charge and doctors charge for medical procedures. Right now, it’s difficult if not impossible, for ordinary people not schooled in medical insurance company jargon to make those comparisons. Meanwhile, over at the Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives (WFC), the Farmers Health Cooperative of Wisconsin (FHCW), launched just last spring, can now announce it has already surpassed the goal it had set for its entire first year of operation - and this has been achieved in less than three months. This plan didn’t develop overnight - it took years of hard work by WFC’s President and CEO Bill Oemichen, with lots of support from his board of directors, plus monetary assistance gained through the efforts of the state’s Congressional Delegation, to finally find an insurance company willing to take on the risks associated with offering quality insurance plans to farmers and small ag-related businesses. Healthy Wisconsin (the plan of the Senate Democrats) didn’t just rise to the surface during the few weeks or months it took the Senate to put its budget together. Three proposals have been in the works for several years - and they’ve had scrutiny from lawmakers of both parties and they’ve been the focus of public hearings. One of the people involved in developing those three proposals is former State Senator Joe Leean, a Republican, who went to Washington to work with Governor Tommy Thompson when he was Secretary of Health and Human Services during President Bush’s first term. Leean was a thoughtful and deliberate state senator, who came from Waupaca County and who owned a small business. His input into the whole process hasn’t been a “pie-in-the-sky” approach. Meanwhile, former Gov. Thompson, a Republican, should be credited for beginning the popular BadgerCare program and certainly no less credit should go to Governor Jim Doyle, a Democrat and our current governor, for his efforts to go further and make BadgerCare Plus a reality. All of which goes to show there are good ideas out there - and they come from BOTH sides of the aisle. It hasn’t been easy to obtain the numbers of people who have actually signed up for the FHCW plan. Nor has it been easy to obtain real details about Healthy Wisconsin. The people behind each proposal have had valid reasons for adopting a “wait-and-see” approach. On the other hand, obtaining answers to a few farmer-related questions about Healthy Wisconsin have not been easy to come by. But here is some information about both FHCW and Healthy Wisconsin - and it comes direct from Oemichen, who persevered until FHCW was ready for sign-up and from Senator Erpenbach, who along with Senator Kathleen Vinehout (D-Alma), are the architects of  Halthy Wisconsin. FHCW The Farmers Health Cooperative of Wisconsin is already serving more than 1,000 farmers - and this comes less than three months after it began enrollment procedures. Oemichen said “our original goal was to be at the 1,000-member mark by April 1, 2008. The fact FHCW is growing this rapidly is a testament to the need for this program benefiting Wisconsin’s farmers. We expect to be very, very busy this fall as other plans (health insurance plans farmers currently have) expire and producers have to decide if they are going to renew or participate in FHCW.” The vast majority of FHCW members, Oemichen continued, “are two persons or families. But we also have small agribusinesses. The board has been cautious in being sure any small business that participates has a direct tie to agriculture. That direct tie has to be in the production or processing of food, feed or fiber. If we were to let in too many unrelated small businesses, my fear is farmers eventually would be pushed out.” The need for FHCW, Oemichen pointed out, “is illustrated by the fact that 12 percent of current FHCW members were previously uninsured.” The cooperative has surpassed $2.5 million in premiums and boasts members in 57 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties. Another indicator of the co-op’s strength, Oemichen said, “is that FHCW enrollment spans all age groups, all risk categories and includes individuals and families alike with two-person and family contracts representing more than 65 percent of the enrollment to date.” Although town hall meetings have been suspended for the summer months to accommodate farm field work schedules, they will resume this fall. But farmers and agri-businesses do not need to wait until fall or who just want more information, can contact FHCW by calling 800-539-9370 or visiting http://www.farmershealthcooperative.comAsked how he thought the Healthy Wisconsin proposal might impact FHCW, Oemichen had this to say: “Our position is we support anyone who has a better idea - that’s our overall view.” Oemichen noted “the difficulty with Healthy Wisconsin is that we don’t have a lot of the details of how the plan would actually operate and how self-employed farmers would be assessed for the plan. “There’s no doubt if Healthy Wisconsin becomes the law of Wisconsin, it would eliminate the farmer health care co-op because the only way we could continue is for us to create our own physician and hospital network. It would cost a lot of money to do that and there would be significant administrative costs on an annual basis. “One way we’re bringing competitive plan to farmers is by minimizing the cost to farmers. The idea is to pass those administrative savings back to farmer members. Healthy Wisconsin will have some significant administrative costs - it’s hard to see where farmers will benefit from that,” Oemichen said. Yet he commended the Senate “for engaging the entire state in a dialogue about health care because of its importance. But WFC has made this issue a priority and we’re not just talking about it. We’re trying to do something about it and it’s not been easy.” Oemichen said FHCW is being increasingly looked at as “a national model - lots of time and energy has gone into getting it up and off the ground and operating successfully. We don’t want to be in the way of a Healthy Wisconsin plan that benefits all farmers - but we’re just not sure it gets us there.” But Oemichen said he had “tremendous respect for Senator Erpenbach and we enjoy working with him. We appreciate the fact he’s engaged the whole state in discussion of health care. In our view, it is the number one issue facing people in the state. We look forward to working with Erpenbach and other members of the Senate. “If there is a better mousetrap, we want to be sure it is better,” he added. Oemichen praised Erpenbach as being “very innovative and also very practical - and a strong supporter of the co-op system.” Healthy Wisconsin In our Monday morning interview with Senator Erpenbach, Agri-View was able to pose some specific questions that brought forth some specific answers. The first question was whether or not he would be willing to see the Healthy Wisconsin plan taken up separately - apart from the budget debate. “The reason why it is part of the budget debate,” Erpenbach began, “is to force the Republicans to sit down and talk. If it were simply a bill, it might have been passed by the Senate but then it would have just sat in the Assembly without any action be taken. “This way it forces both sides to take Healthy Wisconsin seriously and come to resolution over what really needs to be done,” Erpenbach insisted. Anyone over age 65 who continues to work would not have to pay a percentage of their wages toward Healthy Wisconsin, Erpenbach said. (That’s because they are covered under Medicare.) He did say he hoped the federal government would allow the state to put together a group Medicare supplement that would benefit seniors in terms of low cost and good benefits. Asked about how much farmers would have to pay for coverage in the Healthy Wisconsin plan, Erpenbach had this to say: “If they look at what they paid on their social security wages last year, it would be about 10 percent of that.” Erpenbach insisted Healthy Wisconsin would not impact the FCHW plan of WFC. “They, along with teachers, would not be impacted. Anything that would qualify as a network (provide all necessary care through its doctors and hospitals) would not be impacted. But,” he added, “it would be cheaper for Co-op Care (FCHW) to run through Healthy Wisconsin.” Asked if he had a particular message for farmers, the Middleton Democrat recommended “that farmers keep an open mind on this. The idea is to get farmers the same kind of health care coverage we legislators and the governor have. We can do it at a lower cost through Healthy Wisconsin. If someone is hurt (in a farm accident), or has pre-existing conditions, they would not be left out in the cold. “Healthy Wisconsin works because we’re spreading the risk over four million people. Farm families, where one spouse works off the farm so the family can have health care benefits, would be helped. This would allow the farm couple to both work on the farm, if that was their wish, and still have health care benefits,” Erpenbach said. For more details on Healthy Wisconsin, here is the link to Senator Vinehout's Healthy Wisconsin website: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/senate/sen31/news/Media/Health%20Care%20Reform/Health%20Care%20Reform.asp Be informed Set political rhetoric aside, look at the websites for both FCHW and Healthy Wisconsin and try your best to make good, logical comparisons. Talk to your legislators about your thoughts and ideas. See Agri-View’s calendar for a list of town meetings on Healthy Wisconsin or call the 800 number for FCHW. Ask questions and, in particular, ask how the best features of Healthy Wisconsin and FCHW can be realized. And, most important of all, compare costs. One more thing Health care for all is a wonderful idea - but there’s another part of an individual’s health should not be overlooked. That portion has to do with dental care. U.S. Representative Dave Obey (D-Wausau) calls the lack of quality dental care a “silent epidemic” and is calling for more federal money to be directed toward Medicaid and BadgerCare patients. In the past five years, Family Health Center of Marshfield has opened additional sites in Ladysmith, Owen, Chippewa Falls and Park Falls. The first year alone, the Ladysmith clinic drew medical assistance patients from 42 out of 72 counties. In the meantime, the Ministry Dental Clinic at Stevens Point reports a waiting list of 1,900 patients. There is more to be done. Through cooperation and with the intent of doing the right thing, I believe Wisconsin lawmakers - all the way up to Gov. Jim Doyle - can make a real difference in the health of every Wisconsinite. It starts with listening to each other and then being willing to engage in real dialogue.