A health care referendum included on the ballot in 22 Wisconsin counties passed with the largest majority of any item on the ballot Tuesday.

The referendum is a strong public mandate calling for affordable health care for every person in Wisconsin, according to Robert Kraig, program director for Citizen Action of Wisconsin. Kraig said with the Legislature failing to act on health care costs, the referendum was meant to allow voters to send a message to the state legislators.

The referendum has three specific requirements: it calls for affordable health care for Wisconsin residents, coverage that is as good as the state legislators receive and a law to be in effect by the end of 2009.

“People can’t afford access to health care,” Kraig said. “Yet, the Legislature hasn’t agreed to do anything about it.”

Kraig said health care reform is difficult at the national level and should be taken care of by the states instead. He predicts this referendum will inspire the Legislature to take action on the specific issue of health care.

“When a candidate wins, they’re dealing with a whole lot of issues,” Kraig said. “But this cuts through much better. It cuts across ideologies.”

While the referendum passed, it does not guarantee there will be plans for how to make health care affordable but rather asks for action from the Legislature.

Sen. Mark Miller, D-Monona, said the referendum emphasizes what the polls have shown, that health care is an important issue on people’s minds.

He added the state Legislature wants to do something about health care but has been prevented by politics.

“I think action is essential; 16 percent of Wisconsin’s budget is spent on health care,” Miller said. “Most civilized countries do it at half that cost.”

Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford, said the referendum will not have an effect. According to him, the referendum was a political ploy by a left-leaning front group and was meant to put a cover over the previous attempt at universal health care in the Wisconsin Legislature, Healthy Wisconsin.

He added the referendum had ulterior motives to elect Democrats and push for Healthy Wisconsin rather than try to cut through ideologies and across partisan lines.

Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison, said the referendum was meaningless. He said the Legislature has been working on health care in the past and is planning to do so in the future, regardless of this referendum.

“It’s sort of an apple pie vote. Everyone is for health care. It’s going to pass,” Risser said. “The Legislature has the job of putting it together in black and white.”

Health care reform failed in the Republican controlled Assembly in the past, but Risser said things may change, as Democrats held on to control in the Senate and took over control of the Assembly in Tuesday’s election.

With this new Democratic majority, Risser said the Legislature has “high hopes of getting a meaningful bill through.”