1 00:00:39,339 --> 00:00:42,075 The following program is a PBS Wisconsin original 2 00:00:42,142 --> 00:00:44,711 production. >> If one were. 3 00:00:46,647 --> 00:00:48,982 >> Residents sort through the wreckage after some of 4 00:00:49,049 --> 00:00:52,686 the worst rain and flood events swept through 5 00:00:52,753 --> 00:00:56,256 southeast Wisconsin, leaving a path of destruction in its 6 00:00:56,323 --> 00:00:57,991 wake. [MUSIC] 7 00:00:59,893 --> 00:01:03,197 tonight on "Here& Now" Milwaukee County Executive 8 00:01:03,263 --> 00:01:06,733 David Crowley gives the latest on flood recovery. 9 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:09,837 And an expert explains how to know if you're insured 10 00:01:09,903 --> 00:01:12,372 for flood damage. [MUSIC] 11 00:01:14,374 --> 00:01:18,245 containing lead paint in schools, and what to expect 12 00:01:18,312 --> 00:01:23,417 for next year's marketplace premiums. It's "Here& Now" 13 00:01:23,483 --> 00:01:27,487 for August 15th. >> Funding for Here and now 14 00:01:28,021 --> 00:01:30,290 is provided by the Focus Fund for Journalism and 15 00:01:30,357 --> 00:01:34,928 Friends of PBS Wisconsin. >> Communities across 16 00:01:42,803 --> 00:01:45,672 Wisconsin were hit with severe weather, with record 17 00:01:45,739 --> 00:01:48,742 floods hitting the Milwaukee area as the state awaits 18 00:01:48,809 --> 00:01:52,946 word on any federal aid, those on the ground got to 19 00:01:53,013 --> 00:01:57,818 work doing what they could. >> I woke up in the middle 20 00:01:58,919 --> 00:02:01,822 of the night about 3 a.m. Something just told me to 21 00:02:01,889 --> 00:02:04,591 check the basement. As soon as I got down there, my 22 00:02:04,658 --> 00:02:07,895 worst nightmare. >> Milwaukee and Waukesha 23 00:02:07,961 --> 00:02:10,797 County residents experienced a living nightmare. 24 00:02:10,864 --> 00:02:14,301 >> When I got down there, I was checking the water drain 25 00:02:14,368 --> 00:02:17,037 and water was just gushing out of it. You know, I tried 26 00:02:17,104 --> 00:02:19,573 to put pressure on it like it was an open wound or 27 00:02:19,640 --> 00:02:22,543 something. led to historic flooding, 28 00:02:22,609 --> 00:02:26,313 the deluge of water overwhelmed storm drains 29 00:02:26,380 --> 00:02:31,652 caused flash floods, knocked out power, damaged homes, 30 00:02:31,718 --> 00:02:35,889 submerged cars and crumbled roads. No deaths have been 31 00:02:35,956 --> 00:02:39,193 reported to have been caused by flooding during the 32 00:02:39,259 --> 00:02:43,931 intense rainfall. Some areas experienced 10 to 13in of 33 00:02:43,997 --> 00:02:47,901 rain in a matter of hours, categorizing it as a 1000 34 00:02:47,968 --> 00:02:52,172 year flood, a record for the area, second only to 35 00:02:52,239 --> 00:02:56,810 flooding in 2008. Governor Tony Evers called it 36 00:02:56,877 --> 00:03:00,113 unprecedented and declared a state of emergency for flash 37 00:03:00,180 --> 00:03:02,883 flooding and storm damage across the state. The 38 00:03:02,950 --> 00:03:06,386 governor also requested FEMA support as Wisconsin 39 00:03:06,453 --> 00:03:09,623 Emergency Management said an initial state and local 40 00:03:09,690 --> 00:03:13,427 damage review suggests Wisconsin meets the 41 00:03:13,493 --> 00:03:16,964 threshold for federal aid. A formal presidential 42 00:03:17,030 --> 00:03:19,600 declaration is needed before any federal assistance will 43 00:03:19,666 --> 00:03:23,604 be provided. But there's some damage. Financial aid 44 00:03:23,670 --> 00:03:26,373 won't fix. >> My father had recently 45 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:29,977 passed, and I had all of his boxes down in the basement, 46 00:03:30,043 --> 00:03:32,446 so a lot of memories got washed away. It was pretty 47 00:03:32,513 --> 00:03:34,848 bad. >> Milwaukee County 48 00:03:37,351 --> 00:03:40,587 Executive David Crowley Executive David Crowley % 49 00:03:40,654 --> 00:03:44,458 emergency on Sunday as the scope of the flooding was 50 00:03:44,525 --> 00:03:47,528 immediately evident. At week's end, David Crowley 51 00:03:47,594 --> 00:03:49,997 joins us for what's happening now and what's 52 00:03:50,063 --> 00:03:52,499 next. And thanks very much for being here. 53 00:03:52,566 --> 00:03:54,801 >> Thank you for having me. Frederick, always a 54 00:03:54,868 --> 00:03:58,272 >> So now, just under a week since these torrential rains 55 00:03:58,338 --> 00:04:00,807 and flooding, what is happening in Milwaukee right 56 00:04:00,874 --> 00:04:04,978 now, in the aftermath? >> Well, we've had an 57 00:04:05,045 --> 00:04:07,347 opportunity to talk to many different neighbors and 58 00:04:07,414 --> 00:04:10,751 businesses, and a lot of them are facing a lot of 59 00:04:10,817 --> 00:04:12,953 devastation and really heartbroken as far as what 60 00:04:13,020 --> 00:04:14,955 this severe weather has done to them. And so right now, 61 00:04:15,022 --> 00:04:18,692 we are in the recovery mode. And so we have damage 62 00:04:18,759 --> 00:04:21,295 assessment teams working in conjunction with not only 63 00:04:21,361 --> 00:04:23,764 our local officials, but as well as the Wisconsin 64 00:04:23,830 --> 00:04:26,900 Emergency Management. And our job is to make sure we 65 00:04:26,967 --> 00:04:30,003 do this analysis report that damage. Hopefully we'll be 66 00:04:30,070 --> 00:04:33,006 getting that preliminary data done today. We'll be 67 00:04:33,073 --> 00:04:35,008 then turning that over to the Wisconsin Emergency 68 00:04:35,075 --> 00:04:39,313 Management System to see if we can get a FEMA 69 00:04:39,379 --> 00:04:41,782 declaration. I've heard that they may be coming as soon 70 00:04:41,849 --> 00:04:45,118 as next week. More to hear on that. But when they're 71 00:04:45,185 --> 00:04:47,221 here, that gives an opportunity to an analysis 72 00:04:47,287 --> 00:04:50,624 of our our damage report. And for them to actually 73 00:04:50,691 --> 00:04:52,993 tour and see the damage themselves before making a 74 00:04:53,060 --> 00:04:55,095 declaration. >> What is the scope of the 75 00:04:55,162 --> 00:04:59,099 damage? Do you know yet? Do you have kind of a ballpark 76 00:04:59,166 --> 00:05:02,703 dollar damage figure? >> Well, when you think 77 00:05:02,769 --> 00:05:05,372 about a 1000 year flood, it could create a lot, of lot 78 00:05:05,439 --> 00:05:07,241 of damage, right? Thousand year rain storm coming into 79 00:05:07,307 --> 00:05:09,810 our community. And so far we've had the opportunity to 80 00:05:09,877 --> 00:05:12,880 actually assess over 2900 different levels of 81 00:05:12,946 --> 00:05:15,449 properties. And we see a lot of properties that have 82 00:05:15,516 --> 00:05:19,386 either major damage or completely destroyed. And so 83 00:05:19,453 --> 00:05:22,389 we know that when it comes down to our public 84 00:05:22,456 --> 00:05:26,393 infrastructure, it exceeds $23 million to date at this 85 00:05:26,460 --> 00:05:28,862 moment. And so as we continue to do these damage 86 00:05:28,929 --> 00:05:31,465 assessments, we're just asking for the public's 87 00:05:31,532 --> 00:05:34,801 patience to contact 211 as much as possible to report 88 00:05:34,868 --> 00:05:37,371 that damage so we can give an accurate assessment. 89 00:05:37,437 --> 00:05:41,575 >> What was worst hit? >> You know, I don't think 90 00:05:41,642 --> 00:05:44,144 you know, when we talk about Milwaukee County, I would 91 00:05:44,211 --> 00:05:46,914 say what was worst hit is, is our pride. You know, this 92 00:05:46,980 --> 00:05:49,716 is something that we never really understood was coming 93 00:05:49,783 --> 00:05:52,519 our way. But when you see what has happened in 94 00:05:52,586 --> 00:05:56,657 Greenfield, what has of Milwaukee, including 95 00:05:56,723 --> 00:05:59,293 Wauwatosa, there's a lot of damage. And we've also heard 96 00:05:59,359 --> 00:06:01,762 about other communities outside of Milwaukee County 97 00:06:01,828 --> 00:06:05,165 who've also faced a certain level of damage. And so it 98 00:06:05,232 --> 00:06:09,069 is our hope that we will be able to receive some level 99 00:06:09,136 --> 00:06:12,639 of FEMA assistance compared to what we've seen out 100 00:06:12,706 --> 00:06:15,576 there. With my own eyes, I do think that we've reached 101 00:06:15,642 --> 00:06:17,744 that threshold for a presidential declaration. 102 00:06:17,811 --> 00:06:22,149 >> How are residents coping? >> You know, residents are 103 00:06:22,216 --> 00:06:24,818 doing everything that they can. Many are heartbroken. 104 00:06:24,885 --> 00:06:27,588 But I've also seen many folks who whose spirits are 105 00:06:27,654 --> 00:06:30,891 still high. And I'm glad to see folks helping out. I've 106 00:06:30,958 --> 00:06:33,193 been going to different neighborhoods, seeing 107 00:06:33,260 --> 00:06:36,063 neighbors, businesses, really stepping up. But with 108 00:06:36,129 --> 00:06:39,032 this community really needs is for their neighbors. You 109 00:06:39,099 --> 00:06:41,535 know, folks from all across the state to really come 110 00:06:41,602 --> 00:06:44,838 down and assist with the cleanup, helping us to get 111 00:06:44,905 --> 00:06:46,907 to those recovery efforts, getting to that place of 112 00:06:46,974 --> 00:06:50,277 normal as much, as much as we can and as quickly as 113 00:06:50,344 --> 00:06:53,614 possible. But I want folks to know that, you know, our 114 00:06:53,680 --> 00:06:56,383 spirits aren't broken. You know, we are strong and 115 00:06:56,450 --> 00:06:59,386 resilient Milwaukee County, everything that we can to 116 00:06:59,453 --> 00:07:01,655 not only recover, but to rebuild the best way 117 00:07:01,722 --> 00:07:03,624 possible. >> You're kind of putting a 118 00:07:03,690 --> 00:07:06,460 call out for people to come to help. Is there enough 119 00:07:06,527 --> 00:07:08,896 help on the ground? >> You know, when you're 120 00:07:08,962 --> 00:07:11,565 when you're talking about the level of devastation and 121 00:07:11,632 --> 00:07:14,434 not just the physical damage, but the 122 00:07:14,501 --> 00:07:16,937 psychological damage that this can have? You know, we 123 00:07:17,004 --> 00:07:18,805 need as much help as possible, right? I mean, 124 00:07:18,872 --> 00:07:21,141 there are so many seniors, people with disabilities who 125 00:07:21,208 --> 00:07:23,544 still haven't been able to clean out their basements 126 00:07:23,610 --> 00:07:26,647 and still have, you know, severe damage in their in 127 00:07:26,713 --> 00:07:29,049 their basements. But you also have individuals who 128 00:07:29,116 --> 00:07:32,519 have lost, you know, their foundation completely and, 129 00:07:32,586 --> 00:07:34,955 you know, have close to three feet of mud and water 130 00:07:35,022 --> 00:07:37,224 still in their basements and needing the help to clean 131 00:07:37,291 --> 00:07:40,827 those things up. And so we do need as much help as 132 00:07:40,894 --> 00:07:43,964 possible. We're asking folks to not only contact the Red 133 00:07:44,031 --> 00:07:46,600 cross to, to provide some level of assistance, but we 134 00:07:46,667 --> 00:07:51,471 do have our website, County dot gov slash 2025 flood 135 00:07:53,006 --> 00:07:55,742 resources, where individuals can sign up to create their 136 00:07:55,809 --> 00:07:58,478 own volunteer teams to go out and help individuals. 137 00:07:58,545 --> 00:08:02,015 >> Are you optimistic that FEMA will deliver federal 138 00:08:02,082 --> 00:08:05,786 disaster aid here? >> You know, I am hopeful 139 00:08:05,853 --> 00:08:09,156 that they will be able to give us that federal 140 00:08:09,223 --> 00:08:11,258 declaration. When you think about the level of damage, 141 00:08:11,325 --> 00:08:14,862 again, $23 million in public infrastructure alone and 142 00:08:14,928 --> 00:08:18,565 seeing homes who are already being quoted, $100,000 in 143 00:08:18,632 --> 00:08:22,135 order to rebuild to the to the magnitude that they feel 144 00:08:22,202 --> 00:08:25,105 comfortable with. I mean, that's quite extreme. And we 145 00:08:25,172 --> 00:08:26,573 know that, you know, insurance isn't going to 146 00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:28,809 cover everything for individuals. And so if we 147 00:08:28,876 --> 00:08:31,778 want to bring back individual assistance and be 148 00:08:31,845 --> 00:08:35,015 able to rebuild the best way possible, that declaration 149 00:08:35,082 --> 00:08:38,619 is going to be extremely key moving forward. And so I'm 150 00:08:38,685 --> 00:08:41,722 grateful for Governor Evers and making the state 151 00:08:41,788 --> 00:08:43,957 declaration. And so that at the federal level 152 00:08:44,024 --> 00:08:45,759 soon. >> Milwaukee County 153 00:08:45,826 --> 00:08:47,995 Executive David Crowley, thanks very much and good 154 00:08:48,061 --> 00:08:50,731 luck. >> Thank you so much for 155 00:08:51,231 --> 00:08:53,800 having me. >> Property loss due to 156 00:08:53,867 --> 00:08:56,370 flooding, like what happened in Milwaukee is likely not 157 00:08:56,436 --> 00:08:59,606 covered by the standard homeowner's insurance 158 00:08:59,673 --> 00:09:02,976 policy. It would be covered up to a point under flood 159 00:09:03,043 --> 00:09:05,045 insurance. But according to the state Insurance 160 00:09:05,112 --> 00:09:07,681 Commissioners Office, Wisconsin has one of the 161 00:09:07,748 --> 00:09:10,184 lowest number of flood insurance policies in the 162 00:09:10,250 --> 00:09:14,555 nation, at under 11,000 of more than 2.7 million 163 00:09:14,621 --> 00:09:17,758 households. Our next guest researches flood insurance 164 00:09:17,824 --> 00:09:20,861 costs and benefits as assistant professor in the 165 00:09:20,928 --> 00:09:23,330 Risk and Insurance Department at the Wisconsin 166 00:09:23,397 --> 00:09:25,933 School of Business. Philip Mulder joins us now. And 167 00:09:25,999 --> 00:09:28,502 thanks for being here. >> Thank you, Frederic. 168 00:09:28,569 --> 00:09:30,804 Happy to be here. >> So what's the explanation 169 00:09:30,871 --> 00:09:33,540 for why so few people hold flood insurance? Do they not 170 00:09:33,607 --> 00:09:36,376 know that they need it? >> I think that it's a 171 00:09:36,443 --> 00:09:38,545 variety of cases. You know, on the one hand, especially 172 00:09:38,612 --> 00:09:41,114 in a state like Wisconsin, where we're not used to 173 00:09:41,181 --> 00:09:43,750 thinking of floods as a regular risk, a lot of 174 00:09:43,817 --> 00:09:46,620 people don't do the due diligence that you would 175 00:09:46,687 --> 00:09:49,189 need to discover that your homeowner's insurance policy 176 00:09:49,256 --> 00:09:52,125 doesn't cover that peril, right? You may be told that 177 00:09:52,192 --> 00:09:55,028 as you buy the policy, but maybe you forget over time, 178 00:09:55,095 --> 00:09:57,264 or you don't notice as you're kind of finalizing 179 00:09:57,331 --> 00:10:00,701 the details. In other cases, maybe people do know that 180 00:10:00,767 --> 00:10:03,537 flood isn't covered, but it is an extra cost. It can be 181 00:10:03,604 --> 00:10:07,174 on the low end, you know, three $400 a year on the 182 00:10:07,241 --> 00:10:10,177 high end. If you are in a high risk area, maybe even 183 00:10:10,244 --> 00:10:12,579 thousands of dollars a year for a lot of households 184 00:10:12,646 --> 00:10:14,681 that's outside of their immediate budget, especially 185 00:10:14,748 --> 00:10:17,518 if flooding isn't top of mind as a as a potential 186 00:10:17,584 --> 00:10:19,753 risk. >> Certainly top of mind 187 00:10:19,820 --> 00:10:22,789 right now, right after what happened in Milwaukee. But I 188 00:10:22,856 --> 00:10:26,126 put a Milwaukee address that did experience flood damage 189 00:10:26,193 --> 00:10:29,696 into the flood risk calculator, and it came out 190 00:10:29,763 --> 00:10:33,600 as low risk. Our flood maps accurate. And have they 191 00:10:33,667 --> 00:10:36,370 changed recently? Do they change a lot? 192 00:10:36,436 --> 00:10:39,606 >> The information that we have about flood risk can 193 00:10:39,673 --> 00:10:42,376 often be, I think confusing to the typical household. 194 00:10:42,442 --> 00:10:45,312 It's sort of important to break down what might be out 195 00:10:45,379 --> 00:10:47,948 there. On the one hand you have sort of what we've 196 00:10:48,015 --> 00:10:50,684 always called flood maps, which are made by FEMA, and 197 00:10:50,751 --> 00:10:53,687 those can often be out of date. These are updated over 198 00:10:53,754 --> 00:10:55,322 time by the US Army Corps of Engineers through studies. 199 00:10:55,389 --> 00:10:58,225 But that process can is supposed to be done every 200 00:10:58,292 --> 00:11:00,527 five years, but often flood maps can be more than a 201 00:11:00,594 --> 00:11:03,063 decade out of date, even when they are updated, they 202 00:11:03,130 --> 00:11:05,732 don't always do a rigorous study. So. So yes, that 203 00:11:05,799 --> 00:11:08,802 information is often out of date, even if you're not in 204 00:11:08,869 --> 00:11:10,838 an official floodplain, your home may have substantial 205 00:11:10,904 --> 00:11:13,674 risk. The National Flood Insurance Program is using 206 00:11:13,740 --> 00:11:17,244 newer information now to price policies based on risk 207 00:11:17,311 --> 00:11:20,848 rating 2.0, but that can be very difficult for 208 00:11:20,914 --> 00:11:23,116 homeowners to learn about. So sometimes you'll see 209 00:11:23,183 --> 00:11:25,652 information on the flood map that tells you your low risk. 210 00:11:25,719 --> 00:11:29,156 And another set of information may be telling 211 00:11:29,223 --> 00:11:30,757 you that your high risk. >> And so what should the 212 00:11:30,824 --> 00:11:32,893 homeowner do? >> Well, you know, it's 213 00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:35,262 important to sort of take a holistic view of everything 214 00:11:35,329 --> 00:11:37,731 that you can do to learn about your risk. There's 215 00:11:37,798 --> 00:11:41,068 also third party tools out there, like First Street 216 00:11:41,134 --> 00:11:42,669 Foundation. I understand that the end of the day, 217 00:11:42,736 --> 00:11:46,173 this probably seems like throwing even more 218 00:11:46,240 --> 00:11:50,777 information at the home owner. I think looking into 219 00:11:50,844 --> 00:11:53,714 what the Nfip is charging you, this is the National 220 00:11:53,780 --> 00:11:57,050 Flood Insurance Program. You know, that premium is based 221 00:11:57,117 --> 00:11:59,920 off of their best estimate of your risk. If you're 222 00:11:59,987 --> 00:12:02,689 being charged a high premium, it's probably 223 00:12:02,756 --> 00:12:08,228 because you have high risk. And it seems to me that some 224 00:12:08,295 --> 00:12:12,332 people might explain away risk in Wisconsin by saying 225 00:12:12,399 --> 00:12:14,902 what happened in Milwaukee was a thousand year flood. 226 00:12:14,968 --> 00:12:16,870 It's not going to happen again. 227 00:12:16,937 --> 00:12:20,974 >> Well, you know, I mean, a 1 in 1000 chance of having 228 00:12:21,041 --> 00:12:22,509 your home ruined is a substantial risk, right? 229 00:12:22,576 --> 00:12:25,579 That's what flood insurance and insurance in general is 230 00:12:25,646 --> 00:12:29,049 for, is to take something that yes, it's unlikely, but 231 00:12:29,116 --> 00:12:31,652 if it were to happen, could be catastrophic. And to and 232 00:12:31,718 --> 00:12:35,055 to, you know, get insure against that. The other 233 00:12:35,122 --> 00:12:38,926 thing too is, you know, when we talk about things like 234 00:12:38,992 --> 00:12:43,163 1000 year or a 100 year concept to wrap our heads 235 00:12:43,230 --> 00:12:45,365 around. It does not mean that this will only happen 236 00:12:45,432 --> 00:12:49,336 once every thousand years. There's 1000 year floods 237 00:12:49,403 --> 00:12:53,173 every year somewhere in the country, right? And in 238 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:55,742 addition, what is a thousand year flood? That's something 239 00:12:55,809 --> 00:12:58,111 that we can only estimate and that we think is 240 00:12:58,178 --> 00:13:00,480 changing with changing weather patterns. 241 00:13:00,547 --> 00:13:04,218 >> So if you buy a flood insurance policy, maybe 242 00:13:04,284 --> 00:13:06,887 you're not even in a high risk area, but maybe you 243 00:13:06,954 --> 00:13:10,691 just want to be covered. Does that then cover for 244 00:13:10,757 --> 00:13:13,093 replacement, or are they all different? 245 00:13:13,160 --> 00:13:15,729 >> You are probably going to be able to find some 246 00:13:15,796 --> 00:13:18,265 different types of coverage on the market. So, you know, 247 00:13:18,332 --> 00:13:20,734 I've thrown out the term nfip, the National Flood 248 00:13:20,801 --> 00:13:24,104 Insurance Program that is a federally run insurer, and 249 00:13:24,171 --> 00:13:26,139 they are the primary provider of flood insurance 250 00:13:26,206 --> 00:13:29,409 in the United States and including Wisconsin. They 251 00:13:29,476 --> 00:13:34,715 will sell you up to $250,000 of coverage. A lot of homes 252 00:13:34,781 --> 00:13:37,284 that will not cover the full replacement cost, but for 253 00:13:37,351 --> 00:13:40,487 some of the smaller floods, maybe primarily affect the 254 00:13:40,554 --> 00:13:43,657 lower levels of a home, which which are more typical 255 00:13:43,724 --> 00:13:46,059 in Wisconsin, you might be able to get enough coverage. 256 00:13:46,126 --> 00:13:48,662 Now, there's also private providers of flood 257 00:13:48,729 --> 00:13:51,365 insurance, and there you might be able to find more 258 00:13:51,431 --> 00:13:54,134 coverage options and things that can cover more 259 00:13:54,201 --> 00:13:56,270 expensive homes. It's always important to talk things 260 00:13:56,336 --> 00:13:58,605 through with an agent or a broker. Understand 261 00:13:58,672 --> 00:14:01,408 differences between actual cash value, replacement cost 262 00:14:01,475 --> 00:14:03,243 value policies. You know, these these can definitely 263 00:14:03,310 --> 00:14:07,114 be tricky concepts. >> So given torrential rain 264 00:14:07,181 --> 00:14:10,717 events that are on the increase, should we all just 265 00:14:10,784 --> 00:14:13,687 assume that we need flood >> You know, it's I think 266 00:14:13,754 --> 00:14:16,190 it's a decision that every household has to make for 267 00:14:16,256 --> 00:14:19,726 itself. What I hope is that people can go in with full 268 00:14:19,793 --> 00:14:22,563 information. I think that often people assume that 269 00:14:22,629 --> 00:14:25,132 they have low risk because they're not in a floodplain. 270 00:14:25,199 --> 00:14:27,668 That's not always going to be true. People will say 271 00:14:27,734 --> 00:14:30,237 things like, oh, I can't get flood insurance. I'm not in 272 00:14:30,304 --> 00:14:32,639 a floodplain. That's not true. The National Flood 273 00:14:32,706 --> 00:14:35,742 Insurance Program will sell flood insurance in almost 274 00:14:35,809 --> 00:14:38,745 every community. As a participating nfip 275 00:14:38,812 --> 00:14:40,781 community, that means you can buy flood insurance 276 00:14:40,848 --> 00:14:43,217 inside or outside of the floodplain, so people should 277 00:14:43,283 --> 00:14:45,652 understand their options. Now there's other steps you 278 00:14:45,719 --> 00:14:48,856 can take some pumps in your basement, elevating homes 279 00:14:48,922 --> 00:14:53,193 that are near waterways, keeping a buffer of savings. 280 00:14:53,260 --> 00:14:56,763 If you only face small, say, basement damages, you know, 281 00:14:56,830 --> 00:15:00,033 these are other tools that homeowners can use to handle 282 00:15:00,100 --> 00:15:02,803 flood risk. But flood insurance is definitely one 283 00:15:02,870 --> 00:15:04,938 of those tools, and households should take a 284 00:15:05,005 --> 00:15:07,674 look at their budgets and see if that makes sense. 285 00:15:07,741 --> 00:15:11,545 >> If you put a sump pump or other measures like that in 286 00:15:11,612 --> 00:15:13,580 your basement, does that reduce the cost? If you buy 287 00:15:13,647 --> 00:15:15,816 flood insurance? >> Not in every case. And in 288 00:15:15,883 --> 00:15:17,985 addition, you know, some things are excluded through 289 00:15:18,051 --> 00:15:20,120 flood insurance policy. So basements in many cases you 290 00:15:20,187 --> 00:15:23,090 might be on your own altogether, certainly for, 291 00:15:23,156 --> 00:15:26,326 say, covering the contents down there, you know, flood 292 00:15:26,393 --> 00:15:28,762 insurance is really for dealing with the worst case 293 00:15:28,829 --> 00:15:31,832 scenarios. I know that, you know, a 10 or $20,000 loss 294 00:15:31,899 --> 00:15:34,868 can be financially catastrophic to families, 295 00:15:34,935 --> 00:15:39,306 but ultimately, what flood insurance is for is even 296 00:15:39,373 --> 00:15:42,209 bigger losses, potentially the kind of flooding that 297 00:15:42,276 --> 00:15:45,012 could ruin your entire home. >> Wow. Well, Philip Mulder, 298 00:15:45,078 --> 00:15:47,147 thank you. Thank you so much for the information. 299 00:15:47,214 --> 00:15:50,350 >> Thank you. It was my pleasure. 300 00:15:50,417 --> 00:15:53,687 quickly approaches, we have an update on lead 301 00:15:53,754 --> 00:15:55,789 contamination in Milwaukee Public Schools. Here and 302 00:15:55,856 --> 00:16:00,093 now, reporter Steven Potter has this report. 303 00:16:03,030 --> 00:16:05,199 >> So they'll come back before school starts and 304 00:16:05,265 --> 00:16:08,202 make sure that they get every single spot. And it's 305 00:16:08,268 --> 00:16:12,272 just a constant upkeep. >> Brenda Cassellius is the 306 00:16:12,339 --> 00:16:15,742 superintendent of the system. Since her first day 307 00:16:15,809 --> 00:16:19,646 in the job, less than six months ago, she's faced the 308 00:16:19,713 --> 00:16:21,682 manage a significant health risk facing the school 309 00:16:21,748 --> 00:16:25,118 district's more than 60,000 students. The problem is 310 00:16:25,185 --> 00:16:27,788 lead contamination, specifically chipping lead 311 00:16:27,855 --> 00:16:30,991 paint and lead dust, and the extent of the problem is 312 00:16:31,058 --> 00:16:34,394 very widespread. >> So we have to assume that 313 00:16:34,461 --> 00:16:39,233 the schools built prior to 1950, when there was the 314 00:16:39,299 --> 00:16:41,435 understanding that there's lead in paint happened, that 315 00:16:41,502 --> 00:16:44,204 those schools have lead in them. 316 00:16:44,271 --> 00:16:46,340 >> Cassellius says the Milwaukee public Schools 317 00:16:46,406 --> 00:16:49,543 were using lead paint until it was federally outlawed in 318 00:16:49,610 --> 00:16:52,813 1978. That means a majority of schools are considered 319 00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:55,949 contaminated. >> That's about 106 schools. 320 00:16:56,016 --> 00:16:58,452 >> The lead crisis began when a student at the Golda 321 00:16:58,519 --> 00:17:01,021 Meir Elementary School tested positive for lead 322 00:17:01,088 --> 00:17:03,757 poisoning back in January. That's when the City of 323 00:17:03,824 --> 00:17:05,993 Milwaukee Health Department got involved. 324 00:17:06,059 --> 00:17:08,095 >> We're very concerned about developmental delays 325 00:17:08,161 --> 00:17:12,933 and cognitive regulation. So if a child has significant 326 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:16,103 lead poisoning, it can cause behavioral issues and make 327 00:17:16,170 --> 00:17:19,339 their more impulsive, and it can cause permanent brain 328 00:17:19,406 --> 00:17:22,409 damage that has significant long term effects. So this 329 00:17:22,476 --> 00:17:26,313 is why lead is regulated at the federal level and why 330 00:17:26,380 --> 00:17:29,082 we're taking this so seriously here in the city. 331 00:17:29,149 --> 00:17:31,885 >> Early last spring, after another NPS child tested 332 00:17:31,952 --> 00:17:34,454 positive for lead poisoning, the health department 333 00:17:34,521 --> 00:17:36,456 ordered the school district to come up with a lead 334 00:17:36,523 --> 00:17:39,259 abatement and management plan to address the most 335 00:17:39,326 --> 00:17:42,329 contaminated schools and the student populations most in 336 00:17:42,396 --> 00:17:46,300 danger of lead poisoning. >> The district was required 337 00:17:46,366 --> 00:17:49,903 to produce a lead plan to ensure that we could get 338 00:17:49,970 --> 00:17:53,574 back to compliance with the lead standards that are set 339 00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:56,610 forth for any school across the state of Wisconsin. 340 00:17:56,677 --> 00:17:59,246 >> Around 600 students have been tested, Totoraitis 341 00:17:59,313 --> 00:18:02,049 says, and the testing of students continues. 342 00:18:02,115 --> 00:18:04,818 >> This is an ongoing effort that's really going to span 343 00:18:04,885 --> 00:18:07,354 into the coming years to ensure that we keep eyes on 344 00:18:07,421 --> 00:18:10,457 the students at Mnps and frankly, across the city. 345 00:18:10,524 --> 00:18:12,593 >> Part of the school district's new plan, 346 00:18:12,659 --> 00:18:14,928 released last April, included temporarily closing 347 00:18:14,995 --> 00:18:17,297 several schools and relocating the students to 348 00:18:17,364 --> 00:18:19,833 another school while cleaning and repainting was 349 00:18:19,900 --> 00:18:22,970 done over the spring and now through summer. School 350 00:18:23,036 --> 00:18:25,272 officials say they've made progress, but still have 351 00:18:25,339 --> 00:18:27,474 dozens more schools to clear. 352 00:18:27,541 --> 00:18:29,576 >> We're hoping that we'll have our schools finished 353 00:18:29,643 --> 00:18:34,348 and tested by the September 2nd school start date. 354 00:18:34,414 --> 00:18:37,518 >> It's a fluid process, so as we do our screenings and 355 00:18:37,584 --> 00:18:40,153 ensuring that the schools are ready to reopen, we've 356 00:18:40,220 --> 00:18:42,623 uncovered, hey, you actually need to reclean this room or 357 00:18:42,689 --> 00:18:46,193 you need to restabilize this surface and that adds more 358 00:18:46,260 --> 00:18:47,895 time. >> Despite all of their 359 00:18:47,961 --> 00:18:51,064 efforts so far, NPS officials say that there's 360 00:18:51,131 --> 00:18:53,667 still a lot more work to do with cleaning and painting 361 00:18:53,734 --> 00:18:55,836 the schools to get them to a standard that's safe for 362 00:18:55,903 --> 00:18:57,504 students. And once the schools are stabilized, 363 00:18:57,571 --> 00:19:01,241 additional maintenance and needed to keep them that 364 00:19:01,308 --> 00:19:04,144 way. going to cost somewhere 365 00:19:04,211 --> 00:19:07,314 around $25 million to do. And then there's the ongoing 366 00:19:07,381 --> 00:19:10,284 costs. So we put an additional $16 million of 367 00:19:10,350 --> 00:19:13,453 ongoing investments within our facilities department to 368 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:17,191 add custodial support, to add painters, to add 369 00:19:17,257 --> 00:19:21,061 plasters, to add lead abatement. Or lead 370 00:19:21,862 --> 00:19:25,399 inspectors to the team to make sure that we're keeping 371 00:19:25,465 --> 00:19:28,202 up with our lead action plan. 372 00:19:28,268 --> 00:19:30,637 NPS is having to cover alone. 373 00:19:30,704 --> 00:19:33,974 >> We have not received any help from the state. 374 00:19:34,041 --> 00:19:35,809 >> Still, some are concerned that not enough is being 375 00:19:35,876 --> 00:19:38,612 done fast enough or thoroughly enough to keep 376 00:19:38,679 --> 00:19:41,548 their kids safe. And one group wants more 377 00:19:41,615 --> 00:19:44,818 transparency about what's being done. Shannon Pahlicek 378 00:19:44,885 --> 00:19:47,454 is a parent with Lead Safe Schools Milwaukee. 379 00:19:47,521 --> 00:19:49,890 >> It shouldn't have been a problem in the first place. 380 00:19:49,957 --> 00:19:52,693 It's an issue of aging. Buildings is a big part of 381 00:19:52,759 --> 00:19:55,195 it, but it's also an issue of deferred maintenance, 382 00:19:55,262 --> 00:19:57,798 which is a multifaceted problem. The 383 00:19:57,865 --> 00:19:59,733 administration's job is to know what's going on in the 384 00:19:59,800 --> 00:20:03,403 schools. And so the idea that there was, you know, as 385 00:20:03,470 --> 00:20:07,641 much degradation in the paint as there was and as 386 00:20:07,708 --> 00:20:11,211 much dust in the schools as there was, I think that's 387 00:20:11,278 --> 00:20:14,681 that's disheartening. No child deserves to be unsafe 388 00:20:14,748 --> 00:20:17,684 on day one. So they've got to do what they've got to 389 00:20:17,751 --> 00:20:21,021 do. But the faster the better. But you want it done 390 00:20:21,088 --> 00:20:23,657 right. Cassellius says she 391 00:20:24,024 --> 00:20:26,360 understands the parents concerns. 392 00:20:26,426 --> 00:20:29,396 >> We're working as fast as we can with all urgency and 393 00:20:29,463 --> 00:20:33,066 no expense spared. So I've told my team, if you need 394 00:20:33,133 --> 00:20:36,003 additional painters, we will buy them. If you need 395 00:20:36,069 --> 00:20:38,605 additional plasters, we will buy them. The only thing 396 00:20:38,672 --> 00:20:42,309 that I can't give them more of is time. We are up 397 00:20:42,376 --> 00:20:44,811 against a deadline on September 2nd to get this 398 00:20:44,878 --> 00:20:47,948 work done. >> You can't make a mistake 399 00:20:48,015 --> 00:20:50,751 like this and then ask the public to just trust you. 400 00:20:50,817 --> 00:20:53,854 You have to be willing to build that trust by being 401 00:20:53,921 --> 00:20:56,990 completely transparent. >> Regardless of how much 402 00:20:57,057 --> 00:20:59,760 cleaning and repainting is done. One fact remains that 403 00:20:59,826 --> 00:21:02,462 these schools still have decades of lead paint inside 404 00:21:02,529 --> 00:21:05,399 them. So the only way to truly eliminate this risk, 405 00:21:05,465 --> 00:21:08,669 NPS officials say, is to rebuild. 406 00:21:08,735 --> 00:21:12,673 >> I think that we need to do some either major 407 00:21:12,739 --> 00:21:15,676 renovations or new builds, and we need a significant 408 00:21:15,742 --> 00:21:19,880 100 year plan in Milwaukee, public schools. We have to 409 00:21:19,947 --> 00:21:22,249 make some hard decisions as a community about the 410 00:21:22,316 --> 00:21:24,852 investments we want to make in our children's future. 411 00:21:24,918 --> 00:21:27,921 >> Reporting from Milwaukee. I'm Steven Potter for "Here& 412 00:21:27,988 --> 00:21:30,657 Now". >> In health care news. 413 00:21:31,758 --> 00:21:34,995 Affordable Care Act premiums are expected to increase 414 00:21:35,062 --> 00:21:38,498 sharply when people enroll, starting in November. 415 00:21:38,565 --> 00:21:42,402 Insurance companies are making their projections now 416 00:21:42,469 --> 00:21:46,707 for 2026. Rates in Wisconsin, nearly 850,000 417 00:21:46,773 --> 00:21:50,377 people are enrolled in ACA plans. 12 insurers across 418 00:21:50,444 --> 00:21:54,081 the state that offer marketplace plans, project 419 00:21:54,147 --> 00:21:58,952 increases ranging from 6.6% to 34.5%, according to 420 00:21:59,820 --> 00:22:02,489 Health system analysts. What's driving this 421 00:22:02,556 --> 00:22:06,159 increase? We turn to Caroline Gomez-Tom, an 422 00:22:06,226 --> 00:22:09,162 enrollment manager with the covering Wisconsin program, 423 00:22:09,229 --> 00:22:12,132 which helps people sign up for marketplace plans. And 424 00:22:12,199 --> 00:22:15,202 thanks very much for being here. 425 00:22:16,136 --> 00:22:18,505 Frederica. >> So when you saw these 426 00:22:18,572 --> 00:22:21,041 projected premium hikes, what was your reaction, 427 00:22:21,108 --> 00:22:24,778 especially to the like 34.5% increase? 428 00:22:26,914 --> 00:22:31,818 >> Yeah, it was definitely a startling hike. Except we 429 00:22:31,885 --> 00:22:35,389 weren't necessarily surprised knowing that there 430 00:22:35,455 --> 00:22:38,725 were some things that were in the mix regarding 431 00:22:38,792 --> 00:22:42,396 enhanced premium tax credits that were going away or 432 00:22:42,462 --> 00:22:45,132 potentially going away. You know, Congress could still 433 00:22:45,199 --> 00:22:48,335 act in, you know, these several months before the 434 00:22:48,402 --> 00:22:52,005 end of the year and then some other policy changes 435 00:22:52,072 --> 00:22:56,310 that have happened at the federal level. Plus 436 00:22:57,177 --> 00:23:00,647 healthcare costs, rising inflation, etc, that could 437 00:23:00,714 --> 00:23:05,285 be a part of this. But to see the numbers that we are 438 00:23:06,653 --> 00:23:10,691 expecting for this year, it it took it took your breath 439 00:23:10,757 --> 00:23:14,027 away. >> Yeah. So these enhanced 440 00:23:14,094 --> 00:23:18,432 tax credits are due to expire at the end of 2025. 441 00:23:20,133 --> 00:23:23,270 How did those tax credits help with out-of-pocket 442 00:23:23,337 --> 00:23:26,473 costs? >> Yeah. So these extended 443 00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:31,912 tax credits, they have been in place now since 2020. And 444 00:23:31,979 --> 00:23:37,117 essentially they expanded really the discounts or the 445 00:23:38,986 --> 00:23:41,989 amount that people qualified for to lower their cost of 446 00:23:42,055 --> 00:23:45,759 insurance, especially for those folks that had 447 00:23:45,826 --> 00:23:48,929 slightly higher incomes. So that middle income range 448 00:23:48,996 --> 00:23:53,166 above 400% of the federal poverty level. And what that 449 00:23:53,233 --> 00:23:56,670 means is that people had more options to consider 450 00:23:56,737 --> 00:24:00,307 when they were looking at the healthcare.gov options, 451 00:24:00,374 --> 00:24:03,977 instead of just going directly to the lowest cost 452 00:24:04,044 --> 00:24:08,882 bronze plan with a crazy out of pocket cost for an 453 00:24:08,949 --> 00:24:11,518 individual, they could actually shop around 454 00:24:11,585 --> 00:24:15,556 realistically and look at the plan that may cost a 455 00:24:15,622 --> 00:24:18,825 little more per month, but because of those extended 456 00:24:18,892 --> 00:24:22,162 premiums, they could afford it, but had also lower out 457 00:24:22,229 --> 00:24:25,933 of pocket costs for them. >> And so did those premium 458 00:24:25,999 --> 00:24:30,103 tax credits. Encourage a lot more people to actually 459 00:24:30,170 --> 00:24:33,841 enroll? >> Absolutely. And we could 460 00:24:33,907 --> 00:24:37,945 see that even just this last year where we hit a 461 00:24:38,011 --> 00:24:42,282 milestone year in enrollment in Wisconsin, we had 313,000 462 00:24:42,349 --> 00:24:44,484 people sign up, which was the highest we'd seen since 463 00:24:44,551 --> 00:24:47,554 the marketplace opened in 2014. 464 00:24:48,055 --> 00:24:51,258 >> So according to an analysis that we read, there 465 00:24:51,325 --> 00:24:55,662 are other drivers other than these enhanced tax credits 466 00:24:55,729 --> 00:24:59,099 of rate hikes, like the cost of health care itself, which 467 00:24:59,166 --> 00:25:02,669 you mentioned, including specialty drugs like 468 00:25:02,736 --> 00:25:06,907 Ozempic. What's it like for people with ACA plans to see 469 00:25:06,974 --> 00:25:11,445 such swings in costs? >> Yeah, I think it's tough 470 00:25:13,881 --> 00:25:17,050 because we're already talking about folks who 471 00:25:17,117 --> 00:25:20,687 otherwise don't have access to another form of coverage. 472 00:25:20,754 --> 00:25:23,490 These are folks that don't qualify for Medicaid. They 473 00:25:23,557 --> 00:25:26,059 usually do not have an option for health insurance 474 00:25:26,126 --> 00:25:29,363 through their employer. So they're already going to 475 00:25:29,429 --> 00:25:32,199 healthcare.gov because there are limited options for 476 00:25:32,266 --> 00:25:35,869 them. And then without this additional financial 477 00:25:35,936 --> 00:25:38,705 assistance to help lower the cost of insurance. And sure, 478 00:25:38,772 --> 00:25:42,109 there still will be some tax credits for most folks, but 479 00:25:42,176 --> 00:25:45,145 there still will be some that really will get priced 480 00:25:45,212 --> 00:25:49,149 out of the marketplace. And that I, you know, that's 481 00:25:49,216 --> 00:25:52,319 that's very difficult for folks to go without health 482 00:25:52,386 --> 00:25:55,322 coverage. >> So if someone is 483 00:25:55,389 --> 00:25:58,825 enrolling or Re-enrolling for next year, what is your 484 00:25:58,892 --> 00:26:01,695 advice? >> Well, I would say to 485 00:26:03,730 --> 00:26:06,567 start early, get connected with a health insurance 486 00:26:06,633 --> 00:26:10,270 navigator. Covering Wisconsin still has our 487 00:26:10,337 --> 00:26:13,140 navigator program and we will help people sign up for 488 00:26:13,207 --> 00:26:16,076 coverage through healthcare.gov. They can 489 00:26:16,143 --> 00:26:20,147 call 211. They can also reach us directly on 490 00:26:20,214 --> 00:26:23,050 discover.com or our website, covering Wisconsin. To sign 491 00:26:23,116 --> 00:26:26,353 up for an appointment. And they need to shop around. 492 00:26:26,420 --> 00:26:28,989 And I normally would say they should shop around, but 493 00:26:29,056 --> 00:26:31,792 really this year I think it's a need to make sure 494 00:26:31,859 --> 00:26:34,561 that they understand all the options that are available 495 00:26:34,628 --> 00:26:37,497 to them so that they can make a sound choice, because 496 00:26:37,564 --> 00:26:42,369 what I don't want to see are people just foregoing even 497 00:26:42,436 --> 00:26:44,571 going to healthcare.gov because they're deterred by 498 00:26:44,638 --> 00:26:47,341 cost. We want people to at least know what their 499 00:26:47,407 --> 00:26:50,143 options are so they can make a sound decision. 500 00:26:50,210 --> 00:26:55,349 >> All right. Great advice. Caroline Gomez-Tom thanks 501 00:26:56,083 --> 00:26:58,652 and other issues facing Wisconsin, visit our website 502 00:26:58,719 --> 00:27:02,823 at PBS Wisconsin and then click on the news tab. 503 00:27:02,890 --> 00:27:05,058 That's our program for tonight. I'm Frederica 504 00:27:05,125 --> 00:27:08,028 Freyberg. Have a good weekend. 505 00:27:17,704 --> 00:27:20,073 >> Funding for "Here& Now" is provided by the Focus 506 00:27:20,140 --> 00:27:24,811 Fund for Journalism and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.