Brian Dake

The Trump administration on Tuesday called on the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to make sweeping reforms that could raise shipping rates for certain packages. The administration’s USPS task force said in a new report that the changes are needed to bring in more revenue for the cash-strapped Postal Service, which reported $3.9 billion in losses in fiscal 2018.

The Treasury Department-led task force said the Postal Service should be able to charge higher rates for e-commerce goods and other packages deemed “nonessential,” which are a fast-growing part of the USPS’s business.

The report recommends mail and package shipments be divided into essential and commercial service categories. Many online retail shipments would fall into the latter category, which would not be protected by existing price caps and thus be subject to rate increases.

It also calls on the USPS to redefine what should be covered by the universal service obligation, which requires the Postal Service to deliver everywhere in the U.S. Under the administration’s proposal, most commercial packages would not be covered by that obligation.

The report was not limited to package policies and covered several other areas where the task force believes the USPS could shore up its finances.

It called on the Postal Service to restructure massive prepayments of employee retirement and health benefits, which business groups say is the main driver of its fiscal woes. But it stopped short of endorsing bipartisan legislation that would dramatically scale back the prepayments, saying that doing so would place too much of a burden on taxpayers.

The task force is also recommending that the USPS strengthen its internal management, giving more power to the board of governors to set fiscal targets and allowing the PRC to enforce stricter rules if the goals are not met.

It declined to endorse privatizing the Postal Service, a proposal that was initially floated by the administration earlier this year as part of a broader plan to reorganize the federal government.

Senior administration officials say the Postal Service and Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) would be able to change package rates without an act of Congress.

Wisconsin’s Joint Finance Committee approved a sweeping series of bills to narrow the window for early voting and strip the executive branch of several powers, capping a day of heated public testimony and protests over the plans. The bills deal with a slew of policy issues, from transportation to taxes, but they are largely aimed at prohibiting Gov.-elect Tony Evers from rolling back several Walker administration policies.

The President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, and President Xi Jinping of China, have just concluded what both have said was a “highly successful meeting” between themselves and their most senior representatives in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

On Trade, President Trump has agreed that on January 1, 2019, he will leave the tariffs on $200 billion worth of product at the 10% rate, and not raise it to 25% at this time. China will agree to purchase a not yet agreed upon, but very substantial, amount of agricultural, energy, industrial, and other product from the United States to reduce the trade imbalance between our two countries. China has agreed to start purchasing agricultural product from our farmers immediately.

President Trump and President Xi have agreed to immediately begin negotiations on structural changes with respect to forced technology transfer, intellectual property protection, non-tariff barriers, cyber intrusions and cyber theft, services and agriculture. Both parties agree that they will endeavor to have this transaction completed within the next 90 days. If at the end of this period of time, the parties are unable to reach an agreement, the 10% tariffs will be raised to 25%

In a major political win at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, President Trump joined Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Friday to sign a new trade agreement replacing NAFTA.

Saying that all three countries will benefit from the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Trump said “it is probably the largest trade deal ever made.”

The USMCA replaces NAFTA, which in 1994 had created a free trade zone between the three countries.

Trudeau said the deal “lifts the risk of serious economic uncertainty that lingers throughout a trade renegotiation process — uncertainty that would have only gotten worse and more damaging if we had not reached a new NAFTA.”

The deal emerged in early October, months after Trump hit Mexico and Canada with tariffs on their steel and aluminum products – a move set off retaliatory tariffs and negotiations to create a new trade pact.

The USMCA — which overhauls the rules covering more than $1.2 trillion in regional commerce — faces major hurdles next year in Congress, where Democrats will control the House and may be reluctant to help Trump to fulfill a 2016 campaign promise.

The deal also must be ratified by lawmakers in all three countries.

And even as Trump, Trudeau and Peña Nieto — on his final day in office —signed the accord on the sidelines of the summit, officials from the three countries continued to haggle over terms for lifting US tariffs, according to The Washington Post.

Yesterday afternoon,  Governor-elect Tony Evers announced his Health Policy Advisory Council to bring experienced voices from around the state to work with the transition team on health care issues. The council is a diverse group of health care professionals from rural and urban health care settings and community health advocates.

“Expanding access to affordable health care for Wisconsin residents is a top priority for our administration,” said Evers. “Our Health Policy Advisory Council will help our transition team put together a comprehensive health care plan that takes steps to increase access to health care coverage, like taking the Medicaid expansion dollars, while bringing down costs.”

The council will advise the transition team on policy matters relating to the Department of Health Services, Office of the Commissioner of Insurance, the Department of Employee Trust Funds, and numerous stateboards focused on health care.

Health Policy Advisory Council members:

• Dr. Veronica Gunn, CEO Genesis Consulting
• Karen Timberlake, former Secretary, Wisconsin Department of Health & Human Services
• Candice Owley, Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, AFT VP, RN
• Dr. Jane Mahoney, Wisconsin Institute for Healthy Aging
• Barbara Beckert, Disability Rights of Wisconsin
• Dr. Dipesh Navsaria, UW Health
• Lisa Peyton-Caire, Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness
• Kofi Short, Diverse and Resilient Community, Wisconsin Health Leadership Fellow
• Tanya Atkinson, Planned Parenthood
• Tim Size, Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative
• Mary Jo Meyers, Milwaukee County Health and Human Services
• Mary Neubauer, Mental Health America of Wisconsin

Net loans grew by 8.8% at Wisconsin’s state-chartered banks in the nine months ending eptember 30, 2018, according to data released by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

“The steady growth in lending activity is terrific news for the state’s banking industry and for the Wisconsin economy,” said Jay Risch, Secretary of the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), who oversees state-chartered banks.

Compared to the first three quarters of 2017, Wisconsin’s 158 state-chartered banks:

• Increased net loans to $41.6 billion, up from $38 billion.
• Posted a net income of $486.1 million, an increase of 15.9% from $419.4 million.
• Grew total assets by 7.6%, from $50.9 billion to $55.6 billion.
• Maintained a strong capital ratio of 11.47%, compared to 11.75%.

The continued increase in lending combined with a higher net interest margin were the most significant factors in the strong growth in net income. Total interest income increased by 15.3% for the first nine months of 2018 compared to 2017.

Through the first nine months of 2018, 97% of all state-chartered banks were profitable and nearly 77% realized earnings gains compared to the prior year

When it comes to paying for health care, most people pay for and use insurance. But some are dropping their coverage or deciding to use it only for big medical expenses as deductibles and copays rise.

An analysis from JP Morgan Chase & Co. shows Wisconsinites pay more in out-of-pocket costs than those in other states.

“That is resulting in people not seeking the primary care they need because they can’t afford to pay those copays and deductibles. So what we want (is) to create more options,” said Rep. Joe Sanfelippo, R-New Berlin.

The Republican lawmaker intends to reintroduce a bill next session to legally define an arrangement where consumers pay a monthly fee to their family doctor for unlimited routine care.

If successful, it’s a health care model that could shake up the market.

“There is a direct fee for service need that’s spreading across Wisconsin fairly quickly. Nationally, it’s a movement that’s unstoppable,” said Dr. Tim Murray, CEO of Solstice Health, which has clinics in New Berlin and Oconomowoc. Solstice Health does not accept insurance and only takes patients who pay directly for routine medical care and basic lab services.

But insurance companies have concerns about people contracting with a doctor for primary care services. The consumer protections aren’t the same, and insurers argue it doesn’t make financial sense for those who have coverage.

“For many individuals the math just isn’t going to work. If you purchase both a direct primary care arrangement and a comprehensive insurance plan, you’re going to be paying twice for a broad swatch of services,” said Tim Lundquist, director of government and public affairs for the Wisconsin Association of Health Plans.

Still, supporters consider it a way provide more access to preventive care at lower costs.

“This is actually very timely just coming off an election where health care played such a prevalent role in everybody’s campaign from the governor’s race right on down to the seats for Assembly,” Sanfelippo said about his bill, which didn’t pass last session.

The effect of direct primary care on medical costs and patient health aren’t certain because there aren’t a lot of studies on such health care arrangements.

In addition to defining what direct primary care is, Sanfelippo proposes the state create a pilot program to use direct primary care for some Medicaid recipients and integrate it into the state employee health plan.

Gov.-elect Tony Evers said Tuesday that after taking office he will propose to dissolve Gov. Scott Walker’s public-private jobs agency, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.

The Co-Chairs of the budget-writing Joint Committee on Finance Representative John Nygren (R-Marinette) and Senator Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) released the following statement after revenue projections show Wisconsin has an additional $2.1 billion in revenue:

“This is the best revenue estimate since 2002. We delivered $8 billion in tax cuts and the largest real-dollar increase for public education in state history, and today’s estimate shows we are headed in the right direction.

Governor Walker is leaving Wisconsin in much better fiscal shape than what he inherited. Thanks to our reforms, tax cuts, and common sense budgeting, our state is expected to generate an additional $2.1 billion.

There is no deficit. In fact, Wisconsin is projected to end the current budget with a $662 million surplus. Agency budget requests are just that – requests.

Wisconsin is on the right track and this report proves it. With the amount of money coming into the state, we can continue to fund priorities like education, continue to cut taxes, and balance the budget.”