Pigs fly on health care issue

You would think a conservative columnist like the Journal Sentinel's Patrick McIlheran would sing in the right-wing chorus that automatically opposes any health care reform that involves government. You'd expect him to be open to that kind of plan when pigs fly.

His column this week was a surprise. Some pigs are getting ready for takeoff. He writes:

Remember that statewide health plan proposed last summer - universal coverage, bipartisan sponsors, smelling kind of socialized and vanishing quickly?

It didn't vanish. It was tinkered, and, says its Republican patron, Rep. Curt Gielow of Mequon, it's coming back to the Capitol, perhaps by the first of the year.

It's not socialized, either - so much the opposite that it's worth another look.

That's remarkable. Even Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce tells him it's worth thinking outside the box -- for now, at least.

In an op ed in the Wisconsin State Journal, State Rep. Curt Gielow, R-Mequon, co-sponsor of the bill with State Rep. Jon Richards, D-Milwaukee, says:

In any case, serious consideration should be given to reform ideas like the Wisconsin Health Plan and the AFL-CIO health care plan, which would standardize payments to providers and restore true "pooling" to the health insurance market.

One thing is certain: The status quo is not working for the majority of Wisconsinites who are paying more out of pocket for health care every year.

You can learn more about the plan at the Wisconsin Health Project website.