Milwaukee Biz Blog

It was my sincere privilege to testify before the Senate Education Committee in Milwaukee Tuesday. As the state legislature examines this vitally important issue of how to address challenges within the Milwaukee Public Schools system, I hope that representatives will err on the side of more reform, rather than less.

All of us know that the situation is severe at MPS. There are managerial, administrative, financial and – not least of all – academic failures with which we must contend. But Senate Bill 405, sponsored by Sen. Lena Taylor and supported by a wide range of leaders in the State Assembly, offers real reform and real hope for improvement.

We must not let this opportunity pass us by. We must act now and we must put MPS issues right at the top of our local government structure, under the authority of Milwaukee’s highest office.

Only the mayor of Milwaukee can leverage the resources that are necessary to transform MPS. It is the one position that can harness the powers of the entire city to demand and oversee substantial improvement. The current system is bogged down in bureaucracy and unable to respond to the many challenges our children face. Mayoral governance can pave the way for true accountability and substantial improvement.

I expect the Wisconsin State Legislature to meet this challenge – to demonstrate leadership, even in the midst of mixed messages from various factions – and to serve our citizens with a meaningful, robust bill that will translate into new opportunities for MPS students, families, teachers and administrators, as well as the broader community. The future of our city and state depend on it.

 

Alderman Willie Hines Jr. is the president of the Milwaukee Common Council.

At the outset of the current health care reform process, the country was focused on addressing three things: expanding health insurance access, controlling health care costs and improving health care quality. Sadly, thus far Congress has focused almost exclusively on regulation and rulemaking, and not on addressing the underlying costs of medical care that are driving up premiums and pricing health insurance out of reach of too many businesses, families and individuals.

In fact, the reform bills crafted by both the House of Representatives and the Senate include provisions which do more to exacerbate, rather than correct, the country’s health care shortcomings.

For those who have yet to sort through the details of the reform proposals, here are eight reasons why employees and employers alike should be concerned about the bills being debated in Congress:

1. Employer requirements in the reform bills discourage employment. Both the House and Senate bills place additional requirements on employers that, in many cases, will increase employer costs for each person they employ. For example, the House’s bill includes an 8 percent employer payroll tax that is applied to employers that do not satisfy all of the new requirements. With unemployment at 26-year high, requirements that increase employer costs will only exacerbate the employment challenges in the United States. In fact, a study by the National Federation of Independent Business concluded that a national employer health care mandate would generate a net loss of more than 1.6 million jobs.
2. “Pay or play” mandate could encourage employers to drop coverage. Both bills give employers the option to either continue offering health insurance to employees or drop their existing coverage and pay a tax. Many employers will choose to pay this tax because it is cheaper than the cost of providing health insurance. The Senate tax for a failure to offer health insurance is $750 per year per employee; compare this to the cost of thousands dollars a year to provide health insurance. This means many employees will be forced to buy coverage on their own (which will likely be more expensive than employer-sponsored coverage) or face a tax penalty for not purchasing coverage.
3. Coverage will be more expensive for employees. Both bills will increase costs and reduce benefit flexibility by dictating what kinds of coverage options health insurers can offer businesses. These changes in benefit levels will lead to increased costs for employees.
4. New taxes in Senate bill will drive up the cost of coverage. A multi-billion tax on health insurers is not tax deductible and will result in higher premiums, driving up costs for employees.  Additionally, a new tax on high-cost insurance is based on a formula which will result in more and more employees having to pay the tax each year, including many union members who have bargained for robust health benefits.
5. Government-run plan in the House bill will likely under-pay doctors, hospitals and other medical care providers. Medicare already pays hospitals less than it costs to deliver care, resulting in unpaid expenses being passed on to individuals with private health insurance. A government-run health plan is likely to add to this cost shift, further increasing the cost of health insurance for those with private coverage.
6. A weak individual mandate in both bills, combined with the new insurance rules that will allow individuals to wait until they need medical care to buy insurance, will result in a less healthy insurance pool and higher costs for employees. The proposed reforms only work if all Americans are required to carry some kind of health insurance to ensure risks and costs are fairly distributed. However, the current proposals would allow individuals to purchase coverage only when they are sick or wish to receive health services. Allowing this kind of after-the-fact health insurance purchasing is like allowing someone to buy auto insurance after a crash and have that insurance policy pay for their cost of their car repairs.
7. Higher costs for states in all bills. Many state governments are already buckling under the financial pressure of public programs, and both the Senate and House bills place a partially-unfunded mandate on states to expand their Medicaid programs. Reform must provide cash-strapped states with the resources necessary for this expansion.
8. Weak cost containment in all bills. The focus of reform should be improving quality and controlling costs, yet neither bill makes substantive changes to improve efficiencies within our health care delivery system.

 

While people will differ on the exact details of how health care reform should be structured, no one is debating the fact that we must address the skyrocketing cost of health care before it bankrupts the nation. Yet, a year into this process, Congress has proven time and time again that it would rather tinker around the edges than deliver effective reforms.

My company, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, supports efforts to provide universal access to health insurance coverage, but firmly believes health care reform must be done in a way that is both reasonable and sustainable. The bills in Congress fail on both these fronts and run counter to the basic concept of “bending the cost curve” to achieve affordable, sustainable care.

There is still time for Congress to correct the flaws in its health care reform proposals, but it will take the voices of all Americans - from the assembly line worker to the corporate executive - to convince our elected officials to correct course and deliver the kind of reform the country agreed to at the beginning of this process.

Larry Schreiber is the president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Wisconsin.

During its special session today in Madison, the Wisconsin Legislature chose to delay action on historic legislation that would give Milwaukee’s mayor the power to appoint the superintendent of the Milwaukee Public Schools and authority over the MPS budget. Instead, legislators want to hold a hearing in Milwaukee in early January on a separate Senate bill that would give more power to the state superintendent of public instruction to supposedly help low-performing schools.

I agree with critics that the Senate bill isn’t as firm as the mayoral control legislation, and in Milwaukee it’s not what’s needed to bring about real, far-reaching changes.

I find it ironic that lawmakers are delaying an MPS reform measure that has been delayed (in arriving) for a decade or more. Does anyone really believe that more delay in making substantive changes in MPS is going to do anything to help our students? And, will the hearing in Milwaukee next month attract anyone other than the usual crowd of special interests on the MPS control issue?

Sure, I’m not thrilled about the delay, but for me the real outrage should be directed at the many opportunities we’ve lost in Milwaukee over the years. Let’s face it, poor leadership in Milwaukee has left us behind so many other cities (Minneapolis, Portland, Seattle, Des Moines, and Denver, to name just a few) when it comes to economic growth, jobs, transit/transportation, and education. These are often the same cities that are cited as already having a program or an initiative up and running that we are only beginning to talk about or consider; why can’t we be one of those cities?

The long list of missed opportunities, I believe, also stretches to the Milwaukee County Courthouse, where the pension scandal (brought about, in my opinion, by leadership that was not only poor, but also corrupt!) sparked recalls that forced out a county executive and some county supervisors. There was an opportunity to change the way county government does business; but in the end not much has changed there.

While other cities made dramatic changes to their public school systems 10 or 15 years ago, we have a mayor who had to be dragged kicking and screaming into this (mayoral control proposal), despite the obvious glaring mismanagement, deficiencies, dysfunction, mediocrity, and low expectations that have long plagued MPS. Our mayor seems more interested in being liked, rather than providing the bold, gutsy leadership this city needs so badly.

When will we see actual leadership in Milwaukee - leadership that goes beyond just words, and is backed up by real actions?

Robert Donovan is a Milwaukee alderman.

President Barack Obama showed up at Madison's Wright Middle School last week to talk about reforming education, but that topic may not have been top of mind for everyone who came to hear him.

It was the day after Democrats lost races for governor in Virginia and New Jersey, two states where Obama made personal appeals, and during a time in which Congress was stewing over health-care reform, troop levels in Afghanistan and legislation to extend unemployment benefits.

In case anyone was listening, however, the setting was as good a place as any to talk about what it will take to produce better educated citizens.

Wright Middle School is a 12-year old charter school within the Madison School District. It has about 240 sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students, mostly black and Latino, with attendance rates that historically hover around 93 percent. It's been a public education success story because the students who attend all choose to be there – and their parents choose to be involved.

Obama wanted to speak at Wright Middle School to highlight the "Race to the Top" competition, which will invite states such as Wisconsin to compete for a share of $4.35 billion in federal education grants. Obama, who believes lagging achievements in education are a chronic problem in the United States, urged Wright students to aim higher, calling education "a prerequisite for success."

He's right, of course. Better educated people are more likely to find jobs, keep jobs, earn a good living and contribute to society as a whole. The real debate is how best to produce more of them.

"Race to the Top" dangles federal aid carrots to states that raise academic standards, improve teacher quality and expand the reach of charter schools. While $4.35 billion is a lot of money, it represents only a fraction of total K-12 education spending in the United States - about $667 billion in 2008-2009. It's even a fraction of federal-only spending on elementary and secondary education, a category that has grown sharply since former President Bush launched "No Child Left Behind" in 2001.

More money alone won't solve the problem. For "Race to the Top" to work, it must spur education innovation that spreads far beyond a charter school here and a new standard there. It must build upon best practices that can be broadly implemented, in Wisconsin and elsewhere.

Public-private efforts to enrich science, technology, engineering and math education provide ready examples of innovation. In Wisconsin, programs such as Project Lead the Way, Science Olympiad and FIRST Robotics have energized students and teachers alike - and are beginning to yield results.
Project Lead the Way is one instructive example. It prepares middle and high school students for careers in engineering and technology through courses that capture students' imagination. It's used in 2,300 schools nationwide, including 162 in Wisconsin, and is taught by existing public and private school teachers who are immersed in PTLW techniques. The track record is impressive: 73 percent of Project Lead the Way students enter engineering or tech programs, and 80 percent earn their degrees.

 

Another example of thinking differently about education involves student testing. Wisconsin has begun the process of phasing out its current system of testing student performance in grades three through eight and 10 in favor of a system that will more effectively guide teachers, parents and students - and help prepare those students for college and the workforce.

In the process, it should also help businesses in search for workers with 21st century skills, and Wisconsin taxpayers who have a stake in more effective use of local, state and federal dollars.
Other states have remade their testing systems already. Some, such as Oregon, have developed an Internet-based system, which dramatically shortens reporting time and allows for repeat tests for those who want to improve. Michigan requires the ACT test in its system, which lowers the statewide average score (a Wisconsin bragging right for decades) but serves to encourage more students to continue their education after high school. Nebraska built a statewide assessment system from classroom and district best practices. They're all designed to raise standards and performance.

Don't get me wrong: Wisconsin could use whatever share of the "Race to the Top" dollars it can get: It ranks a miserable 49th among the 50 states in per capita federal spending on K-12 education, according to one recent study. But let's make sure those dollars are put to work on innovation that can spread far beyond a school here or a classroom there.

 

Tom Still is president of the Wisconsin Technology Council. He is the former associate editor of the Wisconsin State Journal.

The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representative approved a landmark health care reform bill Saturday night by a 220-215 vote.
President Barack Obama, who went to Capitol Hill earlier on Saturday to lobby moderate Democrats who were wavering, said, "I look forward to signing it into law by the end of the year."
The bill will now go to the U.S. Senate.
BizTimes Milwaukee collected reactions about the legislation from Wisconsin's Congressional delegation and others. Their comments follow. More comments from other officials may be added during the day, and readers are invited comment at the end of the blog:

 

Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Madison)
"This is an historic moment for our nation. House passage of H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, marks the first step toward ensuring health care for all Americans. I truly believe that we'll look back years from now and view the passage of this Act to be as significant as the passage of the Social Security Act in 1935 and the Medicare and Medicaid Act in1965. The bill the House passed today will cover 35 million Americans who currently have no health insurance. This legislation will end the abusive practices of the insurance companies. Your coverage will no longer be denied because of a pre-existing condition. The bill will end the despicable practice of retroactively cancelling your policy at the moment you most need care. It will place caps on out-of-pocket medical expenses so that families dealing with a serious illness will no longer face the prospect of bankruptcy or financial ruin. And it will offer a multitude of other reforms to make our health care system more efficient, less costly, and more effective in preventing illness, restoring, and maintaining good health for you and you family. Health care for all is the issue that brought me into politics and has been a driving force in my work ever since. I am proud of the role that I played in crafting this groundbreaking legislation and will continue to work on improving and strengthening this measure to send the strongest bill possible to the President's desk."

 

Rep. Steve Kagen (D-Appleton), who is a medical doctor
“Tonight, we have taken a bold step forward towards securing the health and safety of all of our families. Working together, we are beginning to fix what is broken in our health care delivery system, guaranteeing that no family will lose their home or need to hold a bake sale just to pay for life-saving treatment. The bill we passed will immediately help senior citizens by beginning to close the Donut Hole in Medicare Part D and eliminating deductibles and co-pays for preventive services in Medicare. It will help everyone in Wisconsin by increasing the number of primary care physicians; securing continued coverage for workers who, through no fault of their own, have lost their jobs; providing immediate help for the uninsured and expanding community health centers ... As someone who has been paying medical malpractice insurance premiums for three decades, I know that we need to fix this problem and strike the right balance. This issue came up frequently in our town hall meetings this summer, and I delivered that message to my colleagues in the House. I listened, came back and helped to write a better bill."

 

Rep. Ron Kind (D-LaCrosse)
"Comprehensive health care reform is long overdue because the current system is unsustainable. The Affordable Health Care for America Act not only makes health care more stable and affordable for those who already have health insurance, but it guarantees access to health insurance coverage for the uninsured, protects consumers, provides security for seniors, and reforms the way we pay for health care from one that is volume driven to one that is value driven. The health care reform bill builds on what works and fixes what doesn’t, offering stability and security to families who are satisfied with their health insurance and providing choices for those who aren’t, without leaving a legacy of debt to our children. Although it’s not perfect, the bill is a good start. As promised, it’s completely paid for. In fact, it reduces the national deficit by $109 billion over the next 10 years and will reduce the cost of care moving forward. I am proud to support the bill. Our current system pays for the number of procedures ordered instead of the quality of care provided; resulting in $700 -800 billion, approximately one third of health care costs, in wasteful spending each year that doesn’t help the patient. We need a value-based reimbursement system that rewards quality and cost-effectiveness. I’ve worked with health care providers in Wisconsin to correct the unfairness of Medicare reimbursement rates that they have been subjected to for so long. Our region is among the lowest reimbursed in the nation, forcing health care providers to shift costs to private plans, resulting in higher costs for patients. We’re fixing that flawed system with this bill, through negotiations I led, to include provisions for historic payment reform that reward the value of care delivered instead of the quantity of care provided. This bill will lead to a more cost effective way to pay for and deliver health care in our country and lower costs in the long run, making health care more affordable for all Americans. I have been assured by Mayo Clinic, Gunderson Lutheran and other health care providers that they will continue to work with me and other Members of both the House and Senate to achieve a final product that moves Medicare toward a model that rewards value. They understand that more of the same is not an acceptable option."

Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee)
"With the passage of the House version of health insurance reform legislation, we recognize the government has a moral responsibility to make sure its citizens have access to quality and affordable health care. The health of a country’s population is absolutely critical to its productivity, and it’s about time that the United States got in the game. In my district, the Affordable Health Care for America Act will improve employer-based coverage for 354,000 residents, and provide credits to help pay for coverage to up to 192,000 households. This bill will improve Medicare for 87,000 beneficiaries, including closing the prescription drug donut hole for 6,200 seniors. It will allow 14,600 small businesses to obtain affordable health care coverage and provide tax credits to help reduce health insurance costs for up to 12,300 small businesses. This legislation will create a right to health care that many Americans have never had before, but it also creates a responsibility that all Americans get insurance so that everyone has some skin in the game. At some point, everyone in America accesses the health care system, and whether or not they have insurance, that care is not free. This bill brings 96 percent of Americans into the health care system – 36 million additional people. This is nothing short of transformational."

Rep. Tom Petri (R-Fond du Lac)
"I think the vote was a tragedy. The bill, when it is finally implemented, will be a killer of jobs and of economic growth. It is going to mean our unemployment will be higher rather than lower, and I think people are going to be shocked when they learn how much more they are going to be paying in premiums for the insurance that they get - especially young people and middle-aged people. There will be real increases in the cost of health care for an awful lot of Americans. Now, I think one thing we have to remember is that this is not final passage. The bill goes to the Senate and will have to go to a conference. There are many hurdles that still have to be passed."

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Janesville)
"I firmly believe that this is the most consequential vote each of us will take in our service here in Congress. When you expose this bill’s budget gimmicks, does it increase the debt and deficit? Yes. Will it take coverage away from seniors, raise premiums for families, and decrease health care innovation? Yes. Will it raise taxes on small businesses and workers, and cost us nearly 5.5 million jobs when our unemployment rate is 10.2 percent? Yes. Does this bill mean the government will take over running our health care system? Yes. But what is worse is this bill replaces the American Idea with a European-style social welfare state. This bill – more than any other decision we are going to make in this body – will lead to millions of Americans becoming dependents on the state rather than being dependent upon themselves. This is not about health care policy – if it were, we could pass a bipartisan bill to fix what’s broken in health care without breaking what’s working in health care. This is about ideology. “The choice is not whether or not you’re going to stick with your party leaders. The choice here is what side of history do you want to be on? Will you be on the side of history where you stick with the people and the principles that built this exceptional nation? That is the choice we face."

Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner (R-Menomonee Falls)
"The U.S. Constitution declares 'we the people,' not 'we the government.' Yet, with tonight's late night passage of H.R. 3962, the House voted in favor of a government takeover of health care that will raise taxes, cut health care services, and perhaps most alarming, set our nation on a dangerous path in which the government encroaches on our lives even more. In the last few days, we've learned the government couldn't foresee the real cost of Cash for Clunkers and the stimulus package did little to stimulate job growth - and now, the same leaders who brought us these programs are taking over health care with more red tape, increased taxes and additional mandates. Like these programs, with health care, we don't know when the spending will end or how high the final costs will go beyond the estimates. Health care needs to be reformed in our country, but Speaker Pelosi's 2,000 page health care overhaul bill is the wrong way to do it. H.R. 3962 is the wrong prescription for America. This bill makes care more expensive and less available, while hurting Wisconsinites and harming Wisconsin businesses. This legislation chips away at the independence our Founding Fathers fought for, and replaces it with citizens being dependent on their government for care. I hope Senators Kohl and Feingold have a better understanding of the principles of democracy when they consider health care legislation on the Senate floor."

Susan Eckerly, senior vice president of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)
"Small business owners are outraged that their elected representatives voted to pass a health care bill that fails to lower costs, increase choice and provide real competition for America’s small businesses.  Instead, this bill will actually make things worse, not better. With unemployment at a 26-year high, the punitive employer mandates and atrocious new taxes will force small business owners to eliminate jobs and freeze expansion plans at a time when our nation’s economy needs small business to thrive. There is no question that this bill will have devastating consequences for small business owners, their employees and the country’s economic recovery. As we have said since its original introduction, H.R. 3962 is not the kind of reform America’s small businesses need or want. Small businesses have long supported reform that provides more affordable and accessible healthcare options for them and their workers. Instead of listening to small businesses, the House passed a bill that will actually make things worse for small firms. Punishing small employers with employer mandates, payroll taxes and a new government-run program paid for on the backs of small businesses, will not fix our broken healthcare system. H.R. 3962 represents a failed opportunity to help small business owners with their No. 1 problem – skyrocketing health care costs. As the health care debate moves to the Senate floor, NFIB hopes senators will consider legislation that actually makes addressing the needs of small businesses a top priority. This begins with enacting
responsible insurance market reforms and increasing competition in the small group and individual private market by creating an exchange modeled on the SHOP Act. It means allowing national benefit plans to be purchased across state lines – something long supported by small business. And, it means making certain that they do so in a way that doesn’t increase the cost of doing business for our small businesses. We have said repeatedly that we remain committed to trying to support reform efforts that will provide more affordable and accessible healthcare options for small employers and their workers. No one needs reform more."

 

Bruce Josten, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
"With the passage of H.R. 3962, the health care bill, the House missed a significant opportunity to advance reasonable and meaningful health reform that fundamentally changes how the health care system operates and changes the overall upward trajectory in spending.  American employers and employees want an improvement in the nation's health care system, not an unsustainable, unaffordable overhaul. Friday's news that unemployment has reached double digits for the first time in 26 years should have been a wake-up call for those considering job-stifling tax increases and employer mandates included in the House health care bill. Expanding coverage is an imperative; it is also imperative that the nation is moving on a credible and sustainable fiscal path. Unfortunately, in addition to the massive new tax burdens on individuals and small business owners, the health care reform bill just passed by the House of Representatives fails the crucial test of reducing the soaring cost of health coverage for businesses or individuals. We urge the Senate to listen to the American people and reject the House’s partisan approach to health care."

Robert Kraig, executive director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin
"It is very rare that a vote can be called 'historic,' but the vote Saturday night certainly was. Despite health care reform efforts that go all the way back to Theodore Roosevelt, this is the first time that any comprehensive health care reform bill has ever been passed by either house of Congress. By a narrow margin that would have been shifted by a change in 3 votes, Congress has taken a great step for the people of Wisconsin in passing the Affordable Health Care for America Act. Those who voted yes proved they were on the side of the American people and not the big insurance companies and special interests that have been working overtime to try and kill meaningful health care reform. Because of the strong support from members of the Wisconsin Congressional delegation to do what is right for their constituents, we can look forward to having more affordable health coverage with good, comprehensive benefits, and true choice and competition in the health insurance marketplace."

Erin Musgrave, Small Business Majority
"The passage today of H.R. 3962 by the US House of Representatives was historic. We are finally within reach of effecting real change—change that has been hard fought, is long overdue and essential to small businesses’ survival.  Providing America’s 28 million small business owners with high-quality, affordable healthcare got one huge step closer to becoming a reality today. Small business owners have been mired in a healthcare system that burdens them with inordinate costs, threatens their competitiveness and discourages entrepreneurship. Economic research we released in June shows that without healthcare reform, small business owners will pay nearly $2.4 trillion over the next 10 years to provide health insurance for their employees. Clearly, the cost of doing nothing is too high, and failing to pass healthcare reform legislation this year is unacceptable. We’re pleased to see adjustments to the bill that will benefit small businesses in particular. These include short-term relief through a high-risk pool set to start in 2010, requiring insurers to justify premium increases to discourage price gouging, a requirement that health plans spend at least 85 percent of premium dollars on medical care and individual plans available in the exchange that would save the 22 million self-employed 25 percent on their premiums in 2016. These provisions, along with tax credits, a robust national exchange and strong market reform—specifically the elimination of preexisting condition rules—will go a long way toward getting small businesses the relief they desperately need. With that said, there’s still more work to do. As we await the final Senate bill, it is imperative that all stakeholders remain constructively engaged and focused on enacting comprehensive healthcare reform this year. There are good provisions in the Senate bill that can be merged with H.R. 3962 to improve the final bill—specifically additional measures to lower costs. Today was a good day for small business and America, and we must maintain this momentum if we are to succeed. We’ve come too far to stop now."

 

Robert Nesse, M.D., president and CEO, Franciscan Skemp Healthcare (La Crosse), Mayo Health System
"The status quo is not acceptable. What we see in health care right now in the United States is tremendous amounts of duplication of services that are not necessary. About 30 percent of the money we spend on health care could be saved if we were all practicing at the best standards of quality and efficiency. The House bill’s provision calling for an Institute of Medicine study and recommendations will move us in the right direction. I look forward to continue working with Congressman Kind to achieve a final product that moves Medicare toward a model that rewards value."

 

David Newby, president of Wisconsin AFL-CIO
"When the House of Representatives passed the Affordable Health Care for America Act, working families found out who their real friends are, and Rep. Moore is at the top of the list. Residents of the fourth congressional district can be proud that Rep. Moore cast one of the deciding votes to put us closer than we have been in the last 60 years to achieving real health insurance reform. Rep. Moore has been a champion for health care reform. In voting for the Affordable Health Care for America Act, Rep. Moore stood up to the insurance company fat cats who have fought so hard to maintain the status quo. She said 'no' to insurance company denials and discriminations due to pre-existing conditions. She said 'no' to the insurance company stranglehold on 94 percent of the markets and told insurance companies they now have to compete. Rep. Moore said ‘yes’ to fairness, competition, security and stability in our health care system. She voted for a plan that provides health insurance to 96 percent of Americans, pays for itself, and reduces the deficit. Saturday’s vote was a rare vote of conscience that distinguished which members of Congress truly represent the will of the people. We thank Rep. Moore for standing with the working men and women who sent her to Washington and we will honor her commitment by continuing to stand with her. It is very exciting that we are so close to winning genuine health insurance reform and we will redouble our efforts to finish the job."

 

Derrick Plummer, Democratic Party spokesman
"It's disappointing, but not surprising that Rep. Ryan chose to stand with the insurance companies instead of Wisconsinites. Today, Rep. Ryan voted against a historic bill which will protect Wisconsinites from unfair insurance company practices and will provide coverage for millions of Americans. But standing on the side of insurance company CEOs and the far right wing or the Republican Party isn’t just bad policy, it’s bad politics. Rep. Ryan can be rest assured that after voting against health insurance reform today, the people of the 1st Congressional District will not be voting for Rep. Ryan next November."

 

Barry Rand, CEO of AARP
"AARP is pleased that the House has passed the Affordable Health Care for American Act. This bill meets our goals of improving Medicare's benefits and making critical health insurance market reforms that make coverage more affordable. Our nation is now closer than ever to a health care system that actually works for all Americans. For too long, insurance companies have taken advantage of discriminatory practices to cherry pick the most profitable customers. And for too long, the high costs of prescription drugs have forced seniors to choose between their medications and other necessities. We must fix this broken, inequitable system. This legislation protects Medicare and ensures that it will be there for today's seniors and for the future generations. The bill makes prescription drugs more affordable for people in Medicare by closing the program's dangerous gap in drug coverage and allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices. It adds cost-free preventive services like cancer screenings and cracks down on waste and fraud to protect and strengthen traditional Medicare benefits. In addition, the legislation provides benefits to help seniors and people with disabilities live in their own homes and communities by establishing the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) program. For all Americans, especially those age 50 to 64 who often struggle to find affordable insurance, this plan strictly limits how much more insurance companies can charge based on age, and stops insurers from denying coverage based on a person's health history or gender. For those who still cannot find affordable coverage on their own, this bill offers help so they can purchase insurance. We thank those representatives who voted for this landmark legislation, and we urge those members who did not support health care reform tonight to reconsider the needs of their constituents when this issue returns to the House for a final vote."

 

J. James Rohack, M.D., president of the American Medical Association
"The AMA hails the passage of the House health reform bill, which will help improve the health system for patients and physicians and calls for swift passage of H.R. 3961 to secure the stability of the Medicare program. Passage of the House health reform bill is a big step forward as we work for comprehensive health reform this year. The AMA will continue its work with Congress and the administration to strengthen and improve health reform legislation as the process continues for patients and physicians. The bill will significantly expand health insurance coverage to Americans; empower patient and physician decision making; institute meaningful insurance market reforms; make substantial investments in quality; institute prevention and wellness initiatives; provide incentives to states that adopt certificate of merit and/or early offer liability reforms, and reduce administrative burdens. As Congress considers new coverage commitments to the American people through health reform, it must ensure that commitments already made are fulfilled through passage of the Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act of 2009 (H.R. 3961). This bill will permanently repeal the broken physician payment formula and preserve access to care for seniors, baby boomers and military families."

In the best of times, effective leadership is critical to the success of most companies. Now, you toss in the worst recession since the Great Depression, and strong leadership becomes a do-or-die proposition for most organizations.

The question is: are effective leaders born, or can they be taught? In reality, that need not be an either/or supposition.

There's no doubt that some people are simply blessed (or cursed?) with natural abilities to lead others. Call them the alpha dogs, call them generals, call them what you will. They possess some degree of charisma, charm, persuasion or intimidation that inspires other people to follow their lead.

However, many people in corporate American can learn to become better leaders by emulating and adopting the best practices of other successful leaders.

Tempo Waukesha, an organization of professional women, will present an opportunity to learn from some of the best leaders in Wisconsin at its Pulse luncheon on Tuesday, Oct. 27.

The event will include a panel discussion featuring:

• George Dalton, entrepreneur and founder of Fiserv Inc. and Novo 1 Inc.
• JoAnne Brandes, founder and senior fellow of the Carroll University Center for Leadership Excellence and former executive vice president of JohnsonDiversey Inc.
• Bill Henricks, chief operations officer for Rogers Partners in Behavioral Health in Oconomowoc.

I will have the honor and the privilege of moderating the discussion, and I can't wait to hear what these leaders have to say about "remaining positive in turbulent times."

 

I could listen to George Dalton talk for hours. In fact, I have. He has a track record of bold, fearless leadership. He co-founded Fiserv in 1984, at the onset of the savings and loan crisis - a precarious time to start a company whose customers are banks. As the chief executive officer of Novo 1, George is on the cutting edge of strategies for customer interaction. His is a lifetime of continuous learning, and he has much wisdom to share.

JoAnne is a highly sought-after speaker who has served on the boards of directors at Anderson Windows Corp., Bemis Manufacturing Corp., Metrix Inc. and Highlights for Children Inc. Wherever she goes, she is asked to lead. That's why she also has served as a trustee at Carroll University, a regent at the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents and a director at St. Luke's Medical Center in Milwaukee. She was the recipient of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Lifetime Excellence Award earlier this year. JoAnne says leadership is important, not only at the top of an organization, but at every level.

Bill has been working in the mental health field for nearly 25 years as a psychologist and health care administrator. Over the years, he has developed numerous behavioral health programs that help people recover from mental illness and/or substance abuse and live more balanced and productive lives. Bill will discuss what leaders can do to increase their own personal resiliency and how they can foster more resilient employees.

The luncheon will take place at the Country Springs Hotel in Pewaukee. You are invited to learn more about fearless leadership in turbulent times. For additional information, click here.

 

Steve Jagler is executive editor at BizTimes Milwaukee.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett is clearly following a trend taking hold in most big cities, and that trend is mayoral control of the public school system. Barrett appears to be inspired by what he sees taking place in the District of Colombia School System.

Such an effort could lead to disaster if the clash between politics and the community forces a deal that ultimately ends up making matters more complicated, like they’ve become with the Los Angeles public schools.

After mobilizing his political muscle to take control of the L.A. public schools, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa ended up cutting a political deal that spreads out the authority of running the schools among 27 local mayors, the school board, the superintendent, and the teachers’ union. Talk about a bureaucratic nightmare!

The idea that a mayoral takeover of public schools would improve the system is a theory still lacking data on the long-term impact on student achievement in mayor controlled school districts. In fact, a little over four years after Mayor Michael Bloomberg took over the New York City schools, debate on whether or not his takeover effort helped to improve public schools in New York City is a matter of opinion. Reports indicate that while the city's fourth-graders made significant improvement, eighth-grade test scores dropped, and many of the city's high schools have become overcrowded.

Education researcher and writer Diane Ravitch has been critical of Bloomberg because what he has done to the New York public schools. She says that his top-down, business approach to running the schools has a mindset that "educating children is no different than selling toothpaste."

The Harvard Educational Review recently released a special report on mayoral takeovers and in it they said that school boards are "the only mechanism that provides a direct entry point for citizens - especially parents - to express their concerns about education to the very officials who make education policy."

The removal of the MPS school board means citizen input, particularly those of communities of color, would eliminate their voice on matters impacting school governance.

Also, research indicates that in the last five years about 35 percent of all Latino elected officials and 22 percent of African-American elected officials got elected on to school boards. The National School Boards Association (NSBA) called upon mayors seeking to take control of public schools to focus on issues outside of the classroom that affect student achievement.

The NSBA stated that rather play the role of the education czar, mayors should focus their energies on creating policies and programs that ensure safe neighborhoods for families, access to health care for the uninsured, and affordable housing; key out-of-school factors that affect our children’s ability to learn.

Mayor Barrett and the members of the Milwaukee Public Schools board do care about the future of our children, their education and this city. The mayor and school board members should use their positions working together to establish MPS as a high-performing urban school system.

Boston appears to have adopted this collaborative model. Clearly the quality of education is what improves community life, helps develop a skilled workforce and promotes economic growth. Striving to build partnerships and collaborations so that we can build Milwaukee into a global city power advances all of our standard of living to the next level.

Do we have the political will to do this?

 

Robert Miranda is a Latino community activist, editor-in-chief of the Milwaukee Spanish Journal and executive director of Esperanza Unida Inc. in Milwaukee.

In the midst of the Great Recession, the most serious economic downturn since the Great Depression, companies are clamoring for ways to cut costs, particularly when it comes to skyrocketing health benefits.

There are a number of measures employers can take to stretch their benefit dollars further and realize cost savings with investment in wellness infrastructure. Although counterintuitive, now is the time to make investments in employee wellness.

While improving employee health is a concern among businesses as a matter of corporate social responsibility, perhaps the greatest motivator for companies to invest in employee wellness programs is to decrease corporate health care expenses. Approximately 50 percent of injury and illness costs are lifestyle-related, according to the Partnership for Prevention's Healthy Workforce 2010, presenting significant opportunities to improve productivity and reduce costs.

Improving and promoting employee wellness boosts productivity by making people happier and healthier, and it can reduce insurance premiums for companies if healthier employees are filing fewer medical claims. Case studies suggest that for every $1 spent on wellness programs, a company can save approximately $4 on health insurance costs.  For example, employees who report having high blood glucose levels have 35-percent higher expenditures than an individual who does not, and employees at extremely high or low body weight have 21 percent higher expenditures than individuals who do not, according to the Health Enhancement Research Organization.

Worksite wellness programs are showing a significant return on investment among companies across the U.S., including:

• Johnson & Johnson's Healthy People program, which saves an estimated $9 to $10 million per year from reduced medical utilization and lower administrative expenses.
• Citibank's comprehensive health management program, which demonstrates for every dollar invested in programming activities, $4.56 to $4.73 was saved in reduced health care costs.
• Union Pacific Railroad's medical self-care program, which shows a cost savings of $2.78 for every dollar invested by reducing inappropriate emergency room and outpatient visits.

Here in Milwaukee, Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc. launched its wellness program in 2006. In the past three years, Baird's health care cost trend has decreased from 13 percent per year to 7 percent per year, and it is expected to be lower in 2010 as well. In addition, preventable health risks, which are closely associated with health care costs, have decreased for Baird employees.

 

There are many organizations in Milwaukee taking steps to help encourage workplace wellness and work toward a broader goal of creating a more vibrant and productive workforce. Baird is a member of Well City Milwaukee, a workplace wellness-focused coalition of local employers, led by the City of Milwaukee, the Greater Milwaukee Committee and the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce. More than 50 local employers are working together through Well City Milwaukee to achieve a Well City USA designation for our city, creating a call-to-action for all employers, large and small, to work together by investing in workplace wellness.

I urge employers to make a commitment to improving the health and quality of life of the workforce and their families. Not only is the workplace a logical venue to encourage and support healthy lifestyles, but workplace wellness is the right business strategy to achieve bottom-line results that can significantly reduce health care and benefit costs. It is clear that investing in an employee wellness infrastructure is a win-win for all.

 

Janet McMahon is the executive director of Well City Milwaukee. For more information about Well City Milwaukee, visit www.wellcitymilwaukee.org.

My vision for Milwaukee Public Schools is one of strong leadership, clear accountability, and successful outcomes. I see an MPS:

• That sets high world-class standards for all schools and all students and, under the leadership of a visionary superintendent, holds schools accountable for achieving those standards.
• Where the leader is empowered to focus on those goals and is not distracted by politics or unclear accountability.
• Where high quality teachers are eager to start and finish their careers, because they have the professional and classroom resources they need to support their instructional expertise; clear stable expectations; and additional incentives to tackle challenging problems
• Where parents, students, the community and taxpayers know exactly who to hold accountable.
• Where parents are guaranteed a voice in their children's education and have someone they can contact directly who can address their concerns.
• Where decisions are driven by high quality research and the district is supported by an external research entity focused solely on tracking and supporting MPS.
• Where more dollars are directed into the classroom by implementing fiscal efficiencies and consolidating non-instructional operations such as facilities and purchasing. That does not need to be compelled to improve by corrective action plans and threats of withheld funds, but is compelled by a shared goal to make every child reach their potential.
• Where more students graduate with the skills and desire to pursue post-secondary opportunities which will ensure the quality workforce we need for this city to thrive.

To achieve this vision, it is imperative that we hire a strong, effective superintendent, establish clear and high expectations, provide that superintendent with the fiscal and political support he or she needs to achieve those goals, and hold the superintendent accountable for success.

 

Unfortunately, it is next to impossible to achieve these steps under the current system, as the current outcomes in MPS demonstrate. Under the current system there isn't any clear accountability - and blame is shifted among the board, administration, superintendent and other external entities.

A strong, reform-minded superintendent - of the caliber that D.C. Mayor Fenty found in Michelle Rhee, New York Mayor Bloomberg identified in Joel Klein and Chicago Mayor Daley (and ultimately President Obama) landed in Arne Duncan - that is looking to come to a district where they can implement real reform.

Such leaders would be frustrated under the current system where they have to cater to the changing directives of board leadership. And they would certainly be frustrated by recent actions by the current school board such as redirecting $300,000 for an office of accountability that shifts key powers away from the administration to an elected board, or redirecting $250,000 to pay private lawyers to support the status quo and resist reform efforts.

It's clear, we need to create an environment where a visionary leader has the stability and support he or she needs to get the job done. As mayor, I would empower the next MPS superintendent to apply his or her expertise to develop specific strategies. In New York, Joel Klein released his Children First reform plan details several months after being hired by Mayor Bloomberg - and our community would similarly give our next leader an opportunity to fashion a plan specific to our community needs and challenges.

I will encourage our new leader to include successful reform strategies such as:

• Identifying consistently low performing schools (based on comprehensive, clear data) and implementing significant turnaround reforms or closing them so they do not continue to fail future students.
• Creating incentives to attract high-quality teachers - particularly to low-performing schools or hard-to-staff subjects and providing teachers with the professional development and classroom resources that research shows can improve teacher effectiveness.
• Partnering with an external research entity that will be established to focus on MPS to help drive important policy decisions and track key initiatives.

I will also continue to call upon other community stakeholders to support our parents and students within and outside the classroom. The specifics of these education reform strategies will continue to be refined as we engage stakeholders in this conversation and as the MPS Innovation and Improvement Council continues its work with DPI and MPS.

 

Some may argue that the reforms I have laid out could be implemented under the current system - however, the key is not in just laying out reforms but actually having a system in place where they will be implemented successfully.

The current system has been given too many chances to do so and has failed repeatedly. I haven't seen a compelling case that positive changes are sustainable. Keeping the status quo is the path of least resistance, but it is also the path that is failing our students. The stakes are too high and I am determined to do the right thing for our children and community.

Tom Barrett is the mayor of Milwaukee.

Imagine the corporate governance of a company in which the employees usually controlled who was named to the firm's board of directors, and the board members then selected the CEO.

Every few years or so, some outside investors would gain majority control of the board, and they'd throw out the last regime's CEO and put a new person into office. And then a couple years later, the employees would regain control of the board and reinstall their best candidate for CEO.

Along the way, each CEO would have a couple years to try some new ideas, priorities and programs that might or might not be in the best interests of the company's customers. But when the new CEO steps in, those ideas, priorities and programs are thrown out, and the cycle starts all over again.

And again.

Is that any way to run a railroad? Or a school district, for that matter?

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett is attempting to gain control of the oversight of Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS).
Should the mayor be allowed to take over MPS? If so, what would the impact be? How have mayoral takeovers of public schools worked in other cities? What kinds of new ideas from the private sector could be replicated to help MPS improve its results?

The answers to those questions will be among the topics addressed in the Milwaukee Press Club's next Newsmaker Luncheon, headlined, "New Ideas for MPS."

The featured Newsmakers on the panel will include:

• Susan Marshall, a consultant and founder of Executive Advisor LLC in Oconomowoc. She also is the author of "How to Grow a Backbone." Marshall was contracted by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to help implement his takeover of the public schools in New York City. She was on the front lines of the process and will share her insights about lessons learned for Milwaukee.
• Cory Nettles, founder and managing director of Generation Growth Capital Inc. in Milwaukee. An attorney of counsel at Quarles & Brady, Nettles is the former secretary of commerce for the State of Wisconsin. One of the co-founders of the Milwaukee Quality Education Initiative, Nettles has been active behind the scenes in implementing new ideas for MPS.
• Paul Sweeney, founding partner at PS Capital Partners LLC in Milwaukee. Sweeney is the president of the Council of Small Business Executives (COSBE) of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC). He is a member of MPS Innovation and Improvement Advisory Council, as appointed by Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Elizabeth Burmaster. Sweeney has been exploring new ideas and directions for MPS.

The Newsmakers will answer questions poised by a panel of professional journalists at the luncheon.

 

The luncheon will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 30, from 11:45 to 1:30 p.m. at the Newsroom Pub in downtown Milwaukee at 137 E. Wells St. Pre-registration is required. To register or gain additional information, visit www.milwaukeepressclub.org or call (262) 894-2224.

Steve Jagler is executive editor of BizTimes Milwaukee.