The public discussion on health care reform thus far has been a relatively sad commentary on the state of American society. Reforming the health care system is actually pretty important for a lot of people who are not being adequately served at present. However, instead of, say, debating the merits of the public health insurance option, we have been treated to a theatrical show highlighted by the antics of 8-year-old town hall protesters and the sophomoric wisdom of failed Republican politicians.

The media has been more than willing to pick up on the mildly sensationalized messages of a conservative base committed to destroying Barack Obama’s presidency. Thus the public option has become “socialized medicine,” President Obama has become “a Nazi,” and a figment of someone’s imagination has become “death panels.”

These lyrical characterizations are cute, but they ultimately paint a cartoonish picture of something that is kind of sort of a big deal for a lot of Americans. A better framework of what a reformed health insurance system might look like is actually provided by the socialist nightmare that is the State of Wisconsin Group Health Insurance Plan offered to all Wisconsin government and university employees.

Now, ask a UW-Madison graduate student about his experience with this program, and he will undoubtedly begin rending his garments over his horrible experience. I was personally appalled when my department “encouraged” me to attend a benefits seminar that instructed me to give up my beloved $400 per month COBRA coverage and enroll in SGHIP. As I learned more about the program, my bad dream only got worse. It got so much worse that I actually got decent coverage.

One of the reasons the Wisconsin plan is successful is that allowing all state employees to enroll in the plan creates a large risk pool that allows insurers to spread costs out more evenly. Averaged over the approximately 70,000 people actively enrolled in this group health insurance plan, the money saved on the younger, healthier kids can be applied to meet the needs of the somewhat older, somewhat less healthy kids.

Part of the idea behind the dreaded public option being debated at the national level is that a pooled insurance program will allow the uninsured and self-employed to enter the insurance market not as individuals who are likely to get hosed, but rather as members of a collective risk pool. In the abstract, it seems to make sense that a government-run health insurance plan can fulfill the government’s goal of increasing social welfare by empowering individuals. Of course, issues such as the specter of the government driving the almighty free market out of business will still need to be resolved.

Once state employees are enrolled in the Group Health Insurance Plan, they are presented with an array of health insurance choices that range from HMOs to health cooperatives. There is even a Standard Plan that allowsmembers to choose their own doctors! Crazy! The bureaucrats responsible for foisting this slate of choices upon Wisconsinites is a Group Insurance Board that sets minimum requirements for health insurance providers to meet if they want to be included in Group Health Insurance Plan.

I may just be a tree-hugging engineer, but this set-up sounds very similar to the Health Insurance Exchange President Obama has proposed and the oversight committee that has been included in the House bill. To be fair, Chairman Obama might fill the oversight committee with his Nazi doctors who spend their Saturdays at Camp Randall chanting, “Shoot him like a horse!” However, the greater likelihood is that it would function similar to the GIB in Wisconsin in maintaining affordable and effective health insurance options.

The GIB has created a three-tier system for rating the health insurance plans available as part of the State Group Health Insurance Plan. Tier 1 plans, rated most effective, are assigned to the lowest of three cost brackets. This nefarious government intervention gives the health insurance providers incentives to provide efficient and effective health care coverage.

The impetus for innovation created by the State Group Health Insurance Plan “exchange” also creates competition among the health insurance providers. The set costs for each tier level force the health insurance providers to differentiate themselves based on the services that they provide. It may be hard for those raised under the loving guidance of St. Reagan to accept, but sometimes government oversight can actually create an incentive for innovation.

The 70,000 employees enrolled in Wisconsin’s State Group Health Insurance Plan are obviously not the millions of Americans seeking better health insurance at the national level. However, Wisconsin’s publicly funded State Group Health Insurance Plandoes have several features that are similar to those being proposed at the national level. Although the teabaggers may want to wail about collectivized risk pools and consumer choice being one step short of another five-year plan, the reality is they are key parts of an effective health insurance program.

Zachary Schuster ([email protected]) is a graduate student studying water resources engineering and water resources management.