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The following program is a
PBS Wisconsin original

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production.
>> If one were.

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>> Residents sort through
the wreckage after some of

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the worst rain and flood
events swept through

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southeast Wisconsin, leaving
a path of destruction in its

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wake.
[MUSIC]

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tonight on "Here& Now"
Milwaukee County Executive

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David Crowley gives the
latest on flood recovery.

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And an expert explains how
to know if you're insured

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for flood damage.
[MUSIC]

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containing lead paint in
schools, and what to expect

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for next year's marketplace
premiums. It's "Here& Now"

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for August 15th.
>> Funding for Here and now

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is provided by the Focus
Fund for Journalism and

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Friends of PBS Wisconsin.
>> Communities across

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Wisconsin were hit with
severe weather, with record

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floods hitting the Milwaukee
area as the state awaits

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word on any federal aid,
those on the ground got to

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work doing what they could.
>> I woke up in the middle

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of the night about 3 a.m.
Something just told me to

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check the basement. As soon
as I got down there, my

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worst nightmare.
>> Milwaukee and Waukesha

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County residents experienced
a living nightmare.

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>> When I got down there, I
was checking the water drain

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and water was just gushing
out of it. You know, I tried

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to put pressure on it like
it was an open wound or

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something.
led to historic flooding,

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the deluge of water
overwhelmed storm drains

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caused flash floods, knocked
out power, damaged homes,

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submerged cars and crumbled
roads. No deaths have been

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reported to have been caused
by flooding during the

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intense rainfall. Some areas
experienced 10 to 13in of

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rain in a matter of hours,
categorizing it as a 1000

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year flood, a record for the
area, second only to

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flooding in 2008. Governor
Tony Evers called it

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unprecedented and declared a
state of emergency for flash

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flooding and storm damage
across the state. The

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governor also requested FEMA
support as Wisconsin

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Emergency Management said an
initial state and local

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damage review suggests
Wisconsin meets the

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threshold for federal aid. A
formal presidential

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declaration is needed before
any federal assistance will

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be provided. But there's
some damage. Financial aid

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won't fix.
>> My father had recently

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passed, and I had all of his
boxes down in the basement,

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so a lot of memories got
washed away. It was pretty

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bad.
>> Milwaukee County

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Executive David Crowley
Executive David Crowley <u>%</u>

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emergency on Sunday as the
scope of the flooding was

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immediately evident. At
week's end, David Crowley

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joins us for what's
happening now and what's

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next. And thanks very much
for being here.

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>> Thank you for having me.
Frederick, always a

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>> So now, just under a week
since these torrential rains

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and flooding, what is
happening in Milwaukee right

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now, in the aftermath?
>> Well, we've had an

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opportunity to talk to many
different neighbors and

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businesses, and a lot of
them are facing a lot of

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devastation and really
heartbroken as far as what

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this severe weather has done
to them. And so right now,

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we are in the recovery mode.
And so we have damage

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assessment teams working in
conjunction with not only

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our local officials, but as
well as the Wisconsin

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Emergency Management. And
our job is to make sure we

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do this analysis report that
damage. Hopefully we'll be

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getting that preliminary
data done today. We'll be

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then turning that over to
the Wisconsin Emergency

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Management System to see if
we can get a FEMA

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declaration. I've heard that
they may be coming as soon

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as next week. More to hear
on that. But when they're

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here, that gives an
opportunity to an analysis

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of our our damage report.
And for them to actually

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tour and see the damage
themselves before making a

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declaration.
>> What is the scope of the

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damage? Do you know yet? Do
you have kind of a ballpark

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dollar damage figure?
>> Well, when you think

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about a 1000 year flood, it
could create a lot, of lot

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of damage, right? Thousand
year rain storm coming into

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our community. And so far
we've had the opportunity to

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actually assess over 2900
different levels of

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properties. And we see a lot
of properties that have

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either major damage or
completely destroyed. And so

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we know that when it comes
down to our public

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infrastructure, it exceeds
$23 million to date at this

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moment. And so as we
continue to do these damage

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assessments, we're just
asking for the public's

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patience to contact 211 as
much as possible to report

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that damage so we can give
an accurate assessment.

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>> What was worst hit?
>> You know, I don't think

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you know, when we talk about
Milwaukee County, I would

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say what was worst hit is,
is our pride. You know, this

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is something that we never
really understood was coming

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our way. But when you see
what has happened in

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Greenfield, what has
of Milwaukee, including

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Wauwatosa, there's a lot of
damage. And we've also heard

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about other communities
outside of Milwaukee County

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who've also faced a certain
level of damage. And so it

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is our hope that we will be
able to receive some level

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of FEMA assistance compared
to what we've seen out

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there. With my own eyes, I
do think that we've reached

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that threshold for a
presidential declaration.

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>> How are residents coping?
>> You know, residents are

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doing everything that they
can. Many are heartbroken.

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But I've also seen many
folks who whose spirits are

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still high. And I'm glad to
see folks helping out. I've

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been going to different
neighborhoods, seeing

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neighbors, businesses,
really stepping up. But with

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this community really needs
is for their neighbors. You

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know, folks from all across
the state to really come

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down and assist with the
cleanup, helping us to get

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to those recovery efforts,
getting to that place of

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normal as much, as much as
we can and as quickly as

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possible. But I want folks
to know that, you know, our

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spirits aren't broken. You
know, we are strong and

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resilient Milwaukee County,
everything that we can to

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not only recover, but to
rebuild the best way

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possible.
>> You're kind of putting a

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call out for people to come
to help. Is there enough

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help on the ground?
>> You know, when you're

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when you're talking about
the level of devastation and

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not just the physical
damage, but the

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psychological damage that
this can have? You know, we

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need as much help as
possible, right? I mean,

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there are so many seniors,
people with disabilities who

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still haven't been able to
clean out their basements

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and still have, you know,
severe damage in their in

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their basements. But you
also have individuals who

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have lost, you know, their
foundation completely and,

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you know, have close to
three feet of mud and water

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still in their basements and
needing the help to clean

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those things up. And so we
do need as much help as

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possible. We're asking folks
to not only contact the Red

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cross to, to provide some
level of assistance, but we

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do have our website, County
dot gov slash 2025 flood

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resources, where individuals
can sign up to create their

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own volunteer teams to go
out and help individuals.

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>> Are you optimistic that
FEMA will deliver federal

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disaster aid here?
>> You know, I am hopeful

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that they will be able to
give us that federal

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declaration. When you think
about the level of damage,

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again, $23 million in public
infrastructure alone and

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seeing homes who are already
being quoted, $100,000 in

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order to rebuild to the to
the magnitude that they feel

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comfortable with. I mean,
that's quite extreme. And we

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know that, you know,
insurance isn't going to

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cover everything for
individuals. And so if we

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want to bring back
individual assistance and be

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able to rebuild the best way
possible, that declaration

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is going to be extremely key
moving forward. And so I'm

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grateful for Governor Evers
and making the state

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declaration. And so
that at the federal level

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soon.
>> Milwaukee County

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Executive David Crowley,
thanks very much and good

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luck.
>> Thank you so much for

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having me.
>> Property loss due to

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flooding, like what happened
in Milwaukee is likely not

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covered by the standard
homeowner's insurance

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policy. It would be covered
up to a point under flood

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insurance. But according to
the state Insurance

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Commissioners Office,
Wisconsin has one of the

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lowest number of flood
insurance policies in the

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nation, at under 11,000 of
more than 2.7 million

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households. Our next guest
researches flood insurance

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costs and benefits as
assistant professor in the

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Risk and Insurance
Department at the Wisconsin

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School of Business. Philip
Mulder joins us now. And

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thanks for being here.
>> Thank you, Frederic.

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Happy to be here.
>> So what's the explanation

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for why so few people hold
flood insurance? Do they not

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know that they need it?
>> I think that it's a

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variety of cases. You know,
on the one hand, especially

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in a state like Wisconsin,
where we're not used to

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thinking of floods as a
regular risk, a lot of

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people don't do the due
diligence that you would

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need to discover that your
homeowner's insurance policy

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doesn't cover that peril,
right? You may be told that

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as you buy the policy, but
maybe you forget over time,

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or you don't notice as
you're kind of finalizing

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the details. In other cases,
maybe people do know that

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flood isn't covered, but it
is an extra cost. It can be

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on the low end, you know,
three $400 a year on the

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high end. If you are in a
high risk area, maybe even

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thousands of dollars a year
for a lot of households

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that's outside of their
immediate budget, especially

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if flooding isn't top of
mind as a as a potential

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risk.
>> Certainly top of mind

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right now, right after what
happened in Milwaukee. But I

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put a Milwaukee address that
did experience flood damage

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into the flood risk
calculator, and it came out

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as low risk. Our flood maps
accurate. And have they

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changed recently? Do they
change a lot?

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>> The information that we
have about flood risk can

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often be, I think confusing
to the typical household.

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It's sort of important to
break down what might be out

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there. On the one hand you
have sort of what we've

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always called flood maps,
which are made by FEMA, and

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those can often be out of
date. These are updated over

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time by the US Army Corps of
Engineers through studies.

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But that process can is
supposed to be done every

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five years, but often flood
maps can be more than a

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decade out of date, even
when they are updated, they

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don't always do a rigorous
study. So. So yes, that

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information is often out of
date, even if you're not in

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an official floodplain, your
home may have substantial

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risk. The National Flood
Insurance Program is using

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newer information now to
price policies based on risk

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rating 2.0, but that can be
very difficult for

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homeowners to learn about.
So sometimes you'll see

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information on the flood map
that tells you your low risk.

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And another set of
information may be telling

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you that your high risk.
>> And so what should the

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homeowner do?
>> Well, you know, it's

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important to sort of take a
holistic view of everything

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that you can do to learn
about your risk. There's

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also third party tools out
there, like First Street

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Foundation. I understand
that the end of the day,

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this probably seems like
throwing even more

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information at the home
owner. I think looking into

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what the Nfip is charging
you, this is the National

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Flood Insurance Program. You
know, that premium is based

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off of their best estimate
of your risk. If you're

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being charged a high
premium, it's probably

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because you have high risk.
And it seems to me that some

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people might explain away
risk in Wisconsin by saying

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what happened in Milwaukee
was a thousand year flood.

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It's not going to happen
again.

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>> Well, you know, I mean, a
1 in 1000 chance of having

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your home ruined is a
substantial risk, right?

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That's what flood insurance
and insurance in general is

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for, is to take something
that yes, it's unlikely, but

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if it were to happen, could
be catastrophic. And to and

232
00:11:58,652 --> 00:12:01,989
to, you know, get insure
against that. The other

233
00:12:02,055 --> 00:12:05,826
thing too is, you know, when
we talk about things like

234
00:12:05,893 --> 00:12:10,063
1000 year or a 100 year
concept to wrap our heads

235
00:12:10,130 --> 00:12:12,266
around. It does not mean
that this will only happen

236
00:12:12,332 --> 00:12:16,236
once every thousand years.
There's 1000 year floods

237
00:12:16,303 --> 00:12:20,140
every year somewhere in the
country, right? And in

238
00:12:20,207 --> 00:12:22,643
addition, what is a thousand
year flood? That's something

239
00:12:22,709 --> 00:12:25,012
that we can only estimate
and that we think is

240
00:12:25,078 --> 00:12:27,381
changing with changing
weather patterns.

241
00:12:27,447 --> 00:12:31,118
>> So if you buy a flood
insurance policy, maybe

242
00:12:31,185 --> 00:12:33,787
you're not even in a high
risk area, but maybe you

243
00:12:33,854 --> 00:12:37,591
just want to be covered.
Does that then cover for

244
00:12:37,658 --> 00:12:40,027
replacement, or are they all
different?

245
00:12:40,093 --> 00:12:42,696
>> You are probably going to
be able to find some

246
00:12:42,763 --> 00:12:45,165
different types of coverage
on the market. So, you know,

247
00:12:45,232 --> 00:12:47,668
I've thrown out the term
nfip, the National Flood

248
00:12:47,734 --> 00:12:51,038
Insurance Program that is a
federally run insurer, and

249
00:12:51,104 --> 00:12:53,073
they are the primary
provider of flood insurance

250
00:12:53,140 --> 00:12:56,310
in the United States and
including Wisconsin. They

251
00:12:56,376 --> 00:13:01,682
will sell you up to $250,000
of coverage. A lot of homes

252
00:13:01,748 --> 00:13:04,184
that will not cover the full
replacement cost, but for

253
00:13:04,251 --> 00:13:07,387
some of the smaller floods,
maybe primarily affect the

254
00:13:07,454 --> 00:13:10,557
lower levels of a home,
which which are more typical

255
00:13:10,624 --> 00:13:12,960
in Wisconsin, you might be
able to get enough coverage.

256
00:13:13,026 --> 00:13:15,629
Now, there's also private
providers of flood

257
00:13:15,696 --> 00:13:18,265
insurance, and there you
might be able to find more

258
00:13:18,332 --> 00:13:21,068
coverage options and things
that can cover more

259
00:13:21,134 --> 00:13:23,170
expensive homes. It's always
important to talk things

260
00:13:23,237 --> 00:13:25,506
through with an agent or a
broker. Understand

261
00:13:25,572 --> 00:13:28,308
differences between actual
cash value, replacement cost

262
00:13:28,375 --> 00:13:30,143
value policies. You know,
these these can definitely

263
00:13:30,210 --> 00:13:34,047
be tricky concepts.
>> So given torrential rain

264
00:13:34,114 --> 00:13:37,618
events that are on the
increase, should we all just

265
00:13:37,684 --> 00:13:40,621
assume that we need flood
>> You know, it's I think

266
00:13:40,687 --> 00:13:43,123
it's a decision that every
household has to make for

267
00:13:43,190 --> 00:13:46,627
itself. What I hope is that
people can go in with full

268
00:13:46,693 --> 00:13:49,463
information. I think that
often people assume that

269
00:13:49,530 --> 00:13:52,065
they have low risk because
they're not in a floodplain.

270
00:13:52,132 --> 00:13:54,568
That's not always going to
be true. People will say

271
00:13:54,635 --> 00:13:57,137
things like, oh, I can't get
flood insurance. I'm not in

272
00:13:57,204 --> 00:13:59,540
a floodplain. That's not
true. The National Flood

273
00:13:59,606 --> 00:14:02,643
Insurance Program will sell
flood insurance in almost

274
00:14:02,709 --> 00:14:05,646
every community. As a
participating nfip

275
00:14:05,712 --> 00:14:07,681
community, that means you
can buy flood insurance

276
00:14:07,748 --> 00:14:10,117
inside or outside of the
floodplain, so people should

277
00:14:10,184 --> 00:14:12,553
understand their options.
Now there's other steps you

278
00:14:12,619 --> 00:14:15,789
can take some pumps in your
basement, elevating homes

279
00:14:15,856 --> 00:14:20,127
that are near waterways,
keeping a buffer of savings.

280
00:14:20,194 --> 00:14:23,697
If you only face small, say,
basement damages, you know,

281
00:14:23,764 --> 00:14:26,934
these are other tools that
homeowners can use to handle

282
00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:29,703
flood risk. But flood
insurance is definitely one

283
00:14:29,770 --> 00:14:31,839
of those tools, and
households should take a

284
00:14:31,905 --> 00:14:34,575
look at their budgets and
see if that makes sense.

285
00:14:34,641 --> 00:14:38,445
>> If you put a sump pump or
other measures like that in

286
00:14:38,512 --> 00:14:40,480
your basement, does that
reduce the cost? If you buy

287
00:14:40,547 --> 00:14:42,716
flood insurance?
>> Not in every case. And in

288
00:14:42,783 --> 00:14:44,885
addition, you know, some
things are excluded through

289
00:14:44,952 --> 00:14:47,020
flood insurance policy. So
basements in many cases you

290
00:14:47,087 --> 00:14:49,990
might be on your own
altogether, certainly for,

291
00:14:50,057 --> 00:14:53,227
say, covering the contents
down there, you know, flood

292
00:14:53,293 --> 00:14:55,662
insurance is really for
dealing with the worst case

293
00:14:55,729 --> 00:14:58,732
scenarios. I know that, you
know, a 10 or $20,000 loss

294
00:14:58,799 --> 00:15:01,768
can be financially
catastrophic to families,

295
00:15:01,835 --> 00:15:06,206
but ultimately, what flood
insurance is for is even

296
00:15:06,273 --> 00:15:09,109
bigger losses, potentially
the kind of flooding that

297
00:15:09,176 --> 00:15:11,979
could ruin your entire home.
>> Wow. Well, Philip Mulder,

298
00:15:12,045 --> 00:15:14,047
thank you. Thank you so much
for the information.

299
00:15:14,114 --> 00:15:17,251
>> Thank you. It was my
pleasure.

300
00:15:17,317 --> 00:15:20,621
quickly approaches, we have
an update on lead

301
00:15:20,687 --> 00:15:22,723
contamination in Milwaukee
Public Schools. Here and

302
00:15:22,789 --> 00:15:27,027
now, reporter Steven Potter
has this report.

303
00:15:29,930 --> 00:15:32,099
>> So they'll come back
before school starts and

304
00:15:32,165 --> 00:15:35,102
make sure that they get
every single spot. And it's

305
00:15:35,169 --> 00:15:39,173
just a constant upkeep.
>> Brenda Cassellius is the

306
00:15:39,239 --> 00:15:42,643
superintendent of the
system. Since her first day

307
00:15:42,709 --> 00:15:46,580
in the job, less than six
months ago, she's faced the

308
00:15:46,647 --> 00:15:48,615
manage a significant health
risk facing the school

309
00:15:48,682 --> 00:15:52,019
district's more than 60,000
students. The problem is

310
00:15:52,085 --> 00:15:54,721
lead contamination,
specifically chipping lead

311
00:15:54,788 --> 00:15:57,958
paint and lead dust, and the
extent of the problem is

312
00:15:58,025 --> 00:16:01,295
very widespread.
>> So we have to assume that

313
00:16:01,361 --> 00:16:06,133
the schools built prior to
1950, when there was the

314
00:16:06,200 --> 00:16:08,335
understanding that there's
lead in paint happened, that

315
00:16:08,402 --> 00:16:11,104
those schools have lead in
them.

316
00:16:11,171 --> 00:16:13,240
>> Cassellius says the
Milwaukee public Schools

317
00:16:13,307 --> 00:16:16,443
were using lead paint until
it was federally outlawed in

318
00:16:16,510 --> 00:16:19,713
1978. That means a majority
of schools are considered

319
00:16:19,780 --> 00:16:22,850
contaminated.
>> That's about 106 schools.

320
00:16:22,916 --> 00:16:25,352
>> The lead crisis began
when a student at the Golda

321
00:16:25,419 --> 00:16:27,921
Meir Elementary School
tested positive for lead

322
00:16:27,988 --> 00:16:30,657
poisoning back in January.
That's when the City of

323
00:16:30,724 --> 00:16:32,893
Milwaukee Health Department
got involved.

324
00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:34,995
>> We're very concerned
about developmental delays

325
00:16:35,062 --> 00:16:39,833
and cognitive regulation. So
if a child has significant

326
00:16:39,900 --> 00:16:43,003
lead poisoning, it can cause
behavioral issues and make

327
00:16:43,070 --> 00:16:46,240
their more impulsive, and it
can cause permanent brain

328
00:16:46,306 --> 00:16:49,309
damage that has significant
long term effects. So this

329
00:16:49,376 --> 00:16:53,213
is why lead is regulated at
the federal level and why

330
00:16:53,280 --> 00:16:55,983
we're taking this so
seriously here in the city.

331
00:16:56,049 --> 00:16:58,785
>> Early last spring, after
another NPS child tested

332
00:16:58,852 --> 00:17:01,355
positive for lead poisoning,
the health department

333
00:17:01,421 --> 00:17:03,357
ordered the school district
to come up with a lead

334
00:17:03,423 --> 00:17:06,159
abatement and management
plan to address the most

335
00:17:06,226 --> 00:17:09,229
contaminated schools and the
student populations most in

336
00:17:09,296 --> 00:17:13,200
danger of lead poisoning.
>> The district was required

337
00:17:13,267 --> 00:17:16,803
to produce a lead plan to
ensure that we could get

338
00:17:16,870 --> 00:17:20,474
back to compliance with the
lead standards that are set

339
00:17:20,541 --> 00:17:23,510
forth for any school across
the state of Wisconsin.

340
00:17:23,577 --> 00:17:26,146
>> Around 600 students have
been tested, Totoraitis

341
00:17:26,213 --> 00:17:28,949
says, and the testing of
students continues.

342
00:17:29,016 --> 00:17:31,718
>> This is an ongoing effort
that's really going to span

343
00:17:31,785 --> 00:17:34,254
into the coming years to
ensure that we keep eyes on

344
00:17:34,321 --> 00:17:37,424
the students at Mnps and
frankly, across the city.

345
00:17:37,491 --> 00:17:39,526
>> Part of the school
district's new plan,

346
00:17:39,593 --> 00:17:41,828
released last April,
included temporarily closing

347
00:17:41,895 --> 00:17:44,198
several schools and
relocating the students to

348
00:17:44,264 --> 00:17:46,733
another school while
cleaning and repainting was

349
00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:49,870
done over the spring and now
through summer. School

350
00:17:49,937 --> 00:17:52,206
officials say they've made
progress, but still have

351
00:17:52,272 --> 00:17:54,374
dozens more schools to
clear.

352
00:17:54,441 --> 00:17:56,476
>> We're hoping that we'll
have our schools finished

353
00:17:56,543 --> 00:18:01,248
and tested by the September
2nd school start date.

354
00:18:01,315 --> 00:18:04,418
>> It's a fluid process, so
as we do our screenings and

355
00:18:04,484 --> 00:18:07,087
ensuring that the schools
are ready to reopen, we've

356
00:18:07,154 --> 00:18:09,556
uncovered, hey, you actually
need to reclean this room or

357
00:18:09,623 --> 00:18:13,093
you need to restabilize this
surface and that adds more

358
00:18:13,160 --> 00:18:14,795
time.
>> Despite all of their

359
00:18:14,862 --> 00:18:17,965
efforts so far, NPS
officials say that there's

360
00:18:18,031 --> 00:18:20,634
still a lot more work to do
with cleaning and painting

361
00:18:20,701 --> 00:18:22,736
the schools to get them to a
standard that's safe for

362
00:18:22,803 --> 00:18:24,404
students. And once the
schools are stabilized,

363
00:18:24,471 --> 00:18:28,175
additional maintenance and
needed to keep them that

364
00:18:28,242 --> 00:18:31,078
way.
going to cost somewhere

365
00:18:31,144 --> 00:18:34,214
around $25 million to do.
And then there's the ongoing

366
00:18:34,281 --> 00:18:37,184
costs. So we put an
additional $16 million of

367
00:18:37,251 --> 00:18:40,354
ongoing investments within
our facilities department to

368
00:18:40,420 --> 00:18:44,091
add custodial support, to
add painters, to add

369
00:18:44,157 --> 00:18:47,961
plasters, to add lead
abatement. Or lead

370
00:18:48,762 --> 00:18:52,299
inspectors to the team to
make sure that we're keeping

371
00:18:52,366 --> 00:18:55,102
up with our lead action
plan.

372
00:18:55,169 --> 00:18:57,538
NPS is having to cover
alone.

373
00:18:57,604 --> 00:19:00,874
>> We have not received any
help from the state.

374
00:19:00,941 --> 00:19:02,709
>> Still, some are concerned
that not enough is being

375
00:19:02,776 --> 00:19:05,512
done fast enough or
thoroughly enough to keep

376
00:19:05,579 --> 00:19:08,448
their kids safe. And one
group wants more

377
00:19:08,515 --> 00:19:11,718
transparency about what's
being done. Shannon Pahlicek

378
00:19:11,785 --> 00:19:14,354
is a parent with Lead Safe
Schools Milwaukee.

379
00:19:14,421 --> 00:19:16,823
>> It shouldn't have been a
problem in the first place.

380
00:19:16,890 --> 00:19:19,593
It's an issue of aging.
Buildings is a big part of

381
00:19:19,660 --> 00:19:22,095
it, but it's also an issue
of deferred maintenance,

382
00:19:22,162 --> 00:19:24,698
which is a multifaceted
problem. The

383
00:19:24,765 --> 00:19:26,633
administration's job is to
know what's going on in the

384
00:19:26,700 --> 00:19:30,304
schools. And so the idea
that there was, you know, as

385
00:19:30,370 --> 00:19:34,541
much degradation in the
paint as there was and as

386
00:19:34,608 --> 00:19:38,111
much dust in the schools as
there was, I think that's

387
00:19:38,178 --> 00:19:41,582
that's disheartening. No
child deserves to be unsafe

388
00:19:41,648 --> 00:19:44,585
on day one. So they've got
to do what they've got to

389
00:19:44,651 --> 00:19:47,921
do. But the faster the
better. But you want it done

390
00:19:47,988 --> 00:19:50,557
right.
Cassellius says she

391
00:19:50,924 --> 00:19:53,260
understands the parents
concerns.

392
00:19:53,327 --> 00:19:56,296
>> We're working as fast as
we can with all urgency and

393
00:19:56,363 --> 00:20:00,033
no expense spared. So I've
told my team, if you need

394
00:20:00,100 --> 00:20:02,903
additional painters, we will
buy them. If you need

395
00:20:02,970 --> 00:20:05,506
additional plasters, we will
buy them. The only thing

396
00:20:05,572 --> 00:20:09,209
that I can't give them more
of is time. We are up

397
00:20:09,276 --> 00:20:11,712
against a deadline on
September 2nd to get this

398
00:20:11,778 --> 00:20:14,848
work done.
>> You can't make a mistake

399
00:20:14,915 --> 00:20:17,651
like this and then ask the
public to just trust you.

400
00:20:17,718 --> 00:20:20,754
You have to be willing to
build that trust by being

401
00:20:20,821 --> 00:20:23,891
completely transparent.
>> Regardless of how much

402
00:20:23,957 --> 00:20:26,660
cleaning and repainting is
done. One fact remains that

403
00:20:26,727 --> 00:20:29,363
these schools still have
decades of lead paint inside

404
00:20:29,429 --> 00:20:32,299
them. So the only way to
truly eliminate this risk,

405
00:20:32,366 --> 00:20:35,569
NPS officials say, is to
rebuild.

406
00:20:35,636 --> 00:20:39,640
>> I think that we need to
do some either major

407
00:20:39,706 --> 00:20:42,576
renovations or new builds,
and we need a significant

408
00:20:42,643 --> 00:20:46,780
100 year plan in Milwaukee,
public schools. We have to

409
00:20:46,847 --> 00:20:49,149
make some hard decisions as
a community about the

410
00:20:49,216 --> 00:20:51,752
investments we want to make
in our children's future.

411
00:20:51,818 --> 00:20:54,821
>> Reporting from Milwaukee.
I'm Steven Potter for "Here&

412
00:20:54,888 --> 00:20:57,558
Now".
>> In health care news.

413
00:20:58,725 --> 00:21:01,895
Affordable Care Act premiums
are expected to increase

414
00:21:01,962 --> 00:21:05,399
sharply when people enroll,
starting in November.

415
00:21:05,465 --> 00:21:09,303
Insurance companies are
making their projections now

416
00:21:09,369 --> 00:21:13,674
for 2026. Rates in
Wisconsin, nearly 850,000

417
00:21:13,740 --> 00:21:17,277
people are enrolled in ACA
plans. 12 insurers across

418
00:21:17,344 --> 00:21:21,048
the state that offer
marketplace plans, project

419
00:21:21,114 --> 00:21:25,919
increases ranging from 6.6%
to 34.5%, according to

420
00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:29,456
Health system analysts.
What's driving this

421
00:21:29,523 --> 00:21:33,060
increase? We turn to
Caroline Gomez-Tom, an

422
00:21:33,126 --> 00:21:36,096
enrollment manager with the
covering Wisconsin program,

423
00:21:36,163 --> 00:21:39,032
which helps people sign up
for marketplace plans. And

424
00:21:39,099 --> 00:21:42,102
thanks very much for being
here.

425
00:21:43,036 --> 00:21:45,405
Frederica.
>> So when you saw these

426
00:21:45,472 --> 00:21:47,941
projected premium hikes,
what was your reaction,

427
00:21:48,008 --> 00:21:51,678
especially to the like 34.5%
increase?

428
00:21:53,814 --> 00:21:58,719
>> Yeah, it was definitely a
startling hike. Except we

429
00:21:58,785 --> 00:22:02,322
weren't necessarily
surprised knowing that there

430
00:22:02,389 --> 00:22:05,659
were some things that were
in the mix regarding

431
00:22:05,726 --> 00:22:09,296
enhanced premium tax credits
that were going away or

432
00:22:09,363 --> 00:22:12,032
potentially going away. You
know, Congress could still

433
00:22:12,099 --> 00:22:15,235
act in, you know, these
several months before the

434
00:22:15,302 --> 00:22:18,972
end of the year and then
some other policy changes

435
00:22:19,039 --> 00:22:23,277
that have happened at the
federal level. Plus

436
00:22:24,111 --> 00:22:27,548
healthcare costs, rising
inflation, etc, that could

437
00:22:27,614 --> 00:22:32,186
be a part of this. But to
see the numbers that we are

438
00:22:33,554 --> 00:22:37,591
expecting for this year, it
it took it took your breath

439
00:22:37,658 --> 00:22:40,928
away.
>> Yeah. So these enhanced

440
00:22:40,994 --> 00:22:45,332
tax credits are due to
expire at the end of 2025.

441
00:22:47,034 --> 00:22:50,170
How did those tax credits
help with out-of-pocket

442
00:22:50,237 --> 00:22:53,373
costs?
>> Yeah. So these extended

443
00:22:53,941 --> 00:22:58,812
tax credits, they have been
in place now since 2020. And

444
00:22:58,879 --> 00:23:04,017
essentially they expanded
really the discounts or the

445
00:23:05,886 --> 00:23:08,956
amount that people qualified
for to lower their cost of

446
00:23:09,022 --> 00:23:12,659
insurance, especially for
those folks that had

447
00:23:12,726 --> 00:23:15,829
slightly higher incomes. So
that middle income range

448
00:23:15,896 --> 00:23:20,067
above 400% of the federal
poverty level. And what that

449
00:23:20,133 --> 00:23:23,570
means is that people had
more options to consider

450
00:23:23,637 --> 00:23:27,207
when they were looking at
the healthcare.gov options,

451
00:23:27,274 --> 00:23:30,878
instead of just going
directly to the lowest cost

452
00:23:30,944 --> 00:23:35,782
bronze plan with a crazy out
of pocket cost for an

453
00:23:35,849 --> 00:23:38,418
individual, they could
actually shop around

454
00:23:38,485 --> 00:23:42,456
realistically and look at
the plan that may cost a

455
00:23:42,523 --> 00:23:45,726
little more per month, but
because of those extended

456
00:23:45,792 --> 00:23:49,129
premiums, they could afford
it, but had also lower out

457
00:23:49,196 --> 00:23:52,833
of pocket costs for them.
>> And so did those premium

458
00:23:52,900 --> 00:23:57,004
tax credits. Encourage a lot
more people to actually

459
00:23:57,070 --> 00:24:00,741
enroll?
>> Absolutely. And we could

460
00:24:00,807 --> 00:24:04,845
see that even just this last
year where we hit a

461
00:24:04,912 --> 00:24:09,183
milestone year in enrollment
in Wisconsin, we had 313,000

462
00:24:09,249 --> 00:24:11,385
people sign up, which was
the highest we'd seen since

463
00:24:11,451 --> 00:24:14,454
the marketplace opened in
2014.

464
00:24:14,955 --> 00:24:18,158
>> So according to an
analysis that we read, there

465
00:24:18,225 --> 00:24:22,563
are other drivers other than
these enhanced tax credits

466
00:24:22,629 --> 00:24:25,999
of rate hikes, like the cost
of health care itself, which

467
00:24:26,066 --> 00:24:29,570
you mentioned, including
specialty drugs like

468
00:24:29,636 --> 00:24:33,807
Ozempic. What's it like for
people with ACA plans to see

469
00:24:33,874 --> 00:24:38,345
such swings in costs?
>> Yeah, I think it's tough

470
00:24:40,781 --> 00:24:43,951
because we're already
talking about folks who

471
00:24:44,017 --> 00:24:47,621
otherwise don't have access
to another form of coverage.

472
00:24:47,688 --> 00:24:50,390
These are folks that don't
qualify for Medicaid. They

473
00:24:50,457 --> 00:24:52,960
usually do not have an
option for health insurance

474
00:24:53,026 --> 00:24:56,263
through their employer. So
they're already going to

475
00:24:56,330 --> 00:24:59,099
healthcare.gov because there
are limited options for

476
00:24:59,166 --> 00:25:02,769
them. And then without this
additional financial

477
00:25:02,836 --> 00:25:05,606
assistance to help lower the
cost of insurance. And sure,

478
00:25:05,672 --> 00:25:09,042
there still will be some tax
credits for most folks, but

479
00:25:09,109 --> 00:25:12,045
there still will be some
that really will get priced

480
00:25:12,112 --> 00:25:16,049
out of the marketplace. And
that I, you know, that's

481
00:25:16,116 --> 00:25:19,286
that's very difficult for
folks to go without health

482
00:25:19,353 --> 00:25:22,222
coverage.
>> So if someone is

483
00:25:22,289 --> 00:25:25,726
enrolling or Re-enrolling
for next year, what is your

484
00:25:25,792 --> 00:25:28,595
advice?
>> Well, I would say to

485
00:25:30,631 --> 00:25:33,467
start early, get connected
with a health insurance

486
00:25:33,534 --> 00:25:37,171
navigator. Covering
Wisconsin still has our

487
00:25:37,237 --> 00:25:40,040
navigator program and we
will help people sign up for

488
00:25:40,107 --> 00:25:42,976
coverage through
healthcare.gov. They can

489
00:25:43,043 --> 00:25:47,047
call 211. They can also
reach us directly on

490
00:25:47,114 --> 00:25:49,950
discover.com or our website,
covering Wisconsin. To sign

491
00:25:50,017 --> 00:25:53,253
up for an appointment. And
they need to shop around.

492
00:25:53,320 --> 00:25:55,923
And I normally would say
they should shop around, but

493
00:25:55,989 --> 00:25:58,692
really this year I think
it's a need to make sure

494
00:25:58,759 --> 00:26:01,461
that they understand all the
options that are available

495
00:26:01,528 --> 00:26:04,398
to them so that they can
make a sound choice, because

496
00:26:04,464 --> 00:26:09,269
what I don't want to see are
people just foregoing even

497
00:26:09,336 --> 00:26:11,471
going to healthcare.gov
because they're deterred by

498
00:26:11,538 --> 00:26:14,241
cost. We want people to at
least know what their

499
00:26:14,308 --> 00:26:17,077
options are so they can make
a sound decision.

500
00:26:17,144 --> 00:26:22,282
>> All right. Great advice.
Caroline Gomez-Tom thanks

501
00:26:22,983 --> 00:26:25,586
and other issues facing
Wisconsin, visit our website

502
00:26:25,652 --> 00:26:29,723
at PBS Wisconsin and then
click on the news tab.

503
00:26:29,790 --> 00:26:31,959
That's our program for
tonight. I'm Frederica

504
00:26:32,025 --> 00:26:34,928
Freyberg. Have a good
weekend.

505
00:26:44,638 --> 00:26:47,007
>> Funding for "Here& Now"
is provided by the Focus

506
00:26:47,074 --> 00:26:51,545
Fund for Journalism and
Fund for Journalism and