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Wauwatosa Students Earn a Unanimous Vote + Legislative Update

Posted by State Senator Jim Sullivan on Feb. 25, 2010 | 10 comments

sullivan, cheese, Senate Committee on Agriculture and Higher Education, St. Joseph School, state snack, Health Care Transparency Bill, wellness

Wauwatosa Students Earn a Unanimous Vote from the Senate Agriculture Committee  

An effort launched by students from St. Joseph School in Wauwatosa is one step closer to becoming law. Yesterday, the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Higher Education voted unanimously in favor of a bill that would make Wisconsin cheese the official state snack of Wisconsin.

The students, who are now in middle school, came up with the bill idea themselves back in 2006 when they were studying state symbols at St. Joseph Elementary School in Wauwatosa. The students started brainstorming ideas for a state snack, and after extensive research, the class decided that cheese should be the official snack of Wisconsin. The state of Wisconsin already has many official state symbols including a state tree (sugar maple), a state bird (robin), and even a state dance (polka). 

I am really proud of these kids for recognizing that cheese is an integral part of our state’s economy. I hope this encourages more young people like them to learn about how a good, civic-minded idea can become law.

Watch video of the students joining me to testify at SenatorSullivan.com.

Assembly Voting on Health Care Transparency Bill

The Assembly is voting on the Health Care Transparency Bill (Senate Bill 418/Assembly Bill 614) I authored with my colleague, Rep. Jon Richards (D-Milwaukee) today. The bill will encourage competition among health care providers by requiring them to provide health care consumers with the financial tools necessary to make informed decisions. Read the details in my previous blog on the topic: New Year, New Developments for Wisconsin.

The bill was also passed unanimously out of the Senate Health Committee yesterday, making it eligible for a Senate floor vote.

An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Lifetime of Wellness

I testified before the Senate Health Committee yesterday on Senate Bill 502, a bill I authored which would allow health plans and insurance providers to expand incentive-based wellness programs.

This is commonsense legislation that will help encourage people to make healthy lifestyle choices. Please read my testimony below.

Testimony of Senator Sullivan

Senate Bill 502

Senate Health, Health Insurance, Privacy, Property Tax Relief, and Revenue Committee

Good morning, Chairman Erpenbach and members of the committee. Thank you for holding a public hearing on this important legislation and for the opportunity to speak to the committee about Senate Bill 502. With health care costs continuing to rise across the state and nation, it is important to find practical ways to reduce these costs to consumers. SB 502 and its companion bill in the Assembly, AB 699, will offer fully insured plans and individual policyholders the ability to access wellness programs.

SB 502 allows an insurer to advertise, market, offer, or operate a wellness program without violating an unfair trade or marketing practice. Some examples of wellness programs include: weight loss programs, smoking cessation classes and health education seminars.

The intent of voluntary program incentives is to encourage participation in wellness programs. Seven in 10 consumers say they would participate in a wellness program and 76 percent would participate in a disease management program if they were given financial incentives such as a premium discount or financial reward.

SB 502 will also enable employers to provide financial incentives for healthy behaviors. Incentive-based programs offer rewards to participating individuals, and ultimately, these programs contribute to lower long-term health care costs. 

Wellness program incentives must be made available to everyone and the program must provide reasonable alternative standards for persons with medical conditions that make it medically unadvisable for them to participate or satisfy the program standard. Programs can individually tailor the standards on a case-by-case basis.

Wellness programs have been proven to improve health and therefore lower health care costs.