Dunn County Board approves national healthcare referendum question for November ballot
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — The Dunn County Board has approved placing a non-binding referendum question on the November ballot asking whether the United States should provide a national health insurance program.
An answer must be found to the problem of the high cost of healthcare in the United States, said Kelly McCullough, county board supervisor from Menomonie and chair of the Dunn County Board, at the board’s July 27 meeting.
A non-binding referendum question coming out of Dunn County will not have an impact on the problem, but the Dunn County Board should be the voice for county citizens, he said.
The Dunn County Board’s Legislative Committee discussed the non-binding referendum question at a meeting held July 20 and recommended that the county board consider the question.
Larry Bjork, county board supervisor from Menomonie, asked about the cost of adding a referendum question to the November ballot.
There is room on the ballot, and the only cost would be for the cost of publishing notices associated with a non-binding referendum question, said Andrew Mercil, county clerk.
Monica Berrier, county board supervisor from Menomonie, said she was in favor of the referendum question.
From the perspective of the Dunn County budget, the current system is not a responsible use of taxpayer dollars, she said.
Berrier said she reviewed budget information for the county and discovered that for the past three months, Dunn County has been spending a half a million dollars per month on health insurance for county employees.
The budget request for health insurance for 2022 was $10 million, Berrier said.
A budget of $10 million for health insurance amounts to 11 percent of the budget for all county operations, she said.
Dunn County is spending a lot of money on health insurance, but compared to what the employees are getting, “it’s a bad deal,” Berrier said.
Delays in healthcare and denial of healthcare is part of the system, she noted.
“I don’t know how anybody can look at this and think it’s a good situation, but it’s the system we’re stuck with,” Berrier said.
“I believe as elected officials and stewards of taxpayer dollars, we have a responsibility to demand better of the federal government that serves us,” she said.
Dunn County’s vehicle registration fee raises about $700,000 per year, and that “is peanuts” compared to the $10 million the county spends for health insurance, Berrier said.
“Instead of wringing our hands over the wheel tax, with $10 million, we could be fixing the roads,” Berrier said.
“As elected officials, we have a responsibility to advocate for a more efficient healthcare system, and that’s why I am voting for the referendum,” she said.
Polling the public
Andrew Hagen, county board supervisor from Menomonie, noted that he had been elected to the Dunn County Board this spring.
Hagen is representing District 22, which was previously represented by incumbent supervisor Sarah Kennedy of Menomonie, who died December 14, 2021.
An advisory referendum — a non-binding referendum — is a poll of the public and has no legal effect, Hagen said.
There are no ordinances and no property tax levy attached to the referendum question. The Dunn County Board is asking for the opinion of the public, he said.
At the legislative committee meeting, committee members were asking what is the end goal, what will an advisory referendum question achieve? Hagen said.
Whether the referendum question achieves anything is irrelevant. The question is whether the referendum question is germane to the Dunn County Board’s interests, he said.
Non-binding referendum questions have been on the ballot from time to time. In 2015, the Village of Colfax asked about building a new library or multipurpose building. The Dunn County Board has asked about tax levy limits and whether money should be considered speech, Hagen said.
Advisory referendum questions provide an opportunity to get advice from constituents, he said.
Why should the question be on the November ballot rather than in April? Hagen asked.
The Dunn County Board meets with state legislators in January. A November referendum question would provide information that could be presented to the legislators, he said.
For the past several years, the Dunn County Board has been meeting with state legislators who represent this area to talk about legislative priorities.
The question of a national healthcare program is relevant to Dunn County since the cost for health insurance is projected at $12.5 million for 2023, Hagen said.
The question would be one way to find out if there is public interest in a national healthcare program, he said.
Question
The question for the November ballot will read as follows: “Shall Congress and the President of the United States enact into law the creation of a publicly financed, non-profit, national health insurance program that would fully cover medical care costs for all Americans?”
Comments
During the public comments portion of the Dunn County Board meeting, a number of people spoke in favor of the advisory referendum question pertaining to a national healthcare program.
Healthcare is an essential pillar for economic security, said Margy Hagaman of Menomonie.
The current healthcare system “is broken,” she said.
In the United States, 20 million people do not have health insurance, and 44 percent of Americans have difficulty paying their medical bills, Hagaman said.
Medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States. Attempts at solving the problem have resulted in Band-Aids, such as the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, Medicare and Badgercare, she said.
The United States has a lower life expectancy than most developed countries. If other developed countries can have national non-profit health insurance, “why can’t the United States?” Hagaman asked.
Hagaman said she wanted to see the question on the ballot in November.
Real government
Michel Brandt, Town of Menomonie, said his parents were French Swiss and that Switzerland was a democracy long before the United States.
When he was growing up, his family would speak about political issues while they were at the table, eating meals, he said.
Healthcare, which is a complex issue, will have no simple solutions, but the problem must be worked out, Brandt said.
Government is by the consent of the people, and since the Citizens United Supreme Court decision that established money as free speech, people have been “pushed out” of government, except at the local level, he said.
“This is real government. (A referendum question) is the voice of the people,” Brandt said.
Government gets its strength from the people, he said.
Deductibles
Tom Walsh, Town of Menomonie, said his son is a small business owner who started out 12 years ago.
Prior to the Affordable Care Act, his son was paying $2,000 per month for a health insurance premium with a $10,000 deductible, he said.
After the ACA, the premium is $750 per month with a $5,000 deductible, Walsh said.
The problem of healthcare should have been solved years ago, and “we need Medicare for all,” he said.
Deductibles for many people are so high that they may as well not even have health insurance, Walsh said.
Audacity
Steve Hogseth of Menomonie said he, too, had attended the legislative committee meeting.
Some committee members said putting the question of a national healthcare program on the ballot “was a waste of time,” he said.
In 1776, 13 colonies had the audacity to declare their independence. In 1848, women at a convention in Seneca Falls had the audacity to want the right to vote — which they achieved in 1920, Hogseth said.
The United States is 25th on a list of democracies because there is no universal healthcare. One in 16 global citizens with healthcare live in democracies, he said.
“Let’s be leaders and get it on the ballot,” Hogseth said.
Voice
Lorene Vedder of Menomonie, a retired physician, said she had gone to the legislative committee meeting as well.
Some members of the committee were concerned that that a non-binding referendum question would be detrimental, she said.
A non-binding referendum is “the voice of the people,” Vedder said.
A referendum question can start the conversation on how to solve “the broken for-profit healthcare system in the United States,” she said.
By the rules
Lenore Mercer said Menomonie was her hometown, and that while she was working in a clinic in Madison, she would always remember a clean-cut father who was employed full-time breaking down because he was worried about his kids.
In fact, Mercer said she remembered several fathers worried about their children.
“They were all playing by the rules, but they had no healthcare,” she said.
A co-worker went on a trip to Europe and broke her leg in France. All of her medical expenses were covered, Mercer said.
The United States is the only industrialized nation without universal healthcare. The for-profit healthcare system in the United States is resulting in a shorter life expectancy, she said.
“Medicare shows that it works … Americans deserve better,” Mercer said.
Universal healthcare would result in Americans being healthier and the expenses would be less, she said.
More comments
Mercil read several e-mail messages received in support of the non-binding referendum question on a national healthcare program.
Amy Swanson of Menomonie, who serves on the Menomonie school board, said it would be good to know how many people in Dunn County support universal healthcare.
Jim Tripp of Menomonie, who formerly served on the Dunn County Board, said the healthcare system in the United States is the finest healthcare system, “but the problem is paying for it.”
The United States ranks 10th to 20th on healthcare outcomes, and all families deserve healthcare, Tripp wrote.
Medical personnel expend quite an amount of time on documentation, and human resources people spend a lot of their time on administering insurance programs, he said.
The motivation of the healthcare industry is profit, and the savings on healthcare would offset the increase in taxes to pay for it, he said.
11th
According to www.commonwealthfund.org, the United States ranked 11th out of 11 high income countries on healthcare system performance rankings and comes in behind Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland the United Kingdom.
As of 2019, the United States was spending nearly 17 percent of the Gross Domestic Product on healthcare while the other 10 countries were spending between nine and 12 percent of their GDP on healthcare.
The United States ranked last on access to care, administrative efficiency, equity and healthcare outcomes, although the U.S. ranked second on care process.
