These sorts of characterizations make my blood boil!  These sorts of outright lies, in order to increase the size of government, are exactly what have lead to rising health care cost!

Assembly Republicans, who emerged with a budget after numerous closed-door meetings, rewarded insurance companies and out-of-state drug manufacturers with their inaction on health care reform. The Assembly budget ignores cost savings efforts, but manages to include Health Savings Accounts, which act as tax shelters for those few wealthy enough to put away money for future illness.

Jon Erpenbach, you are either a complete fool, or an outright liar.  Pick which one you'd rather be.  First of all, characterizing the Assembly budget as "secret" and "closed door" after what the Senate did when it snuck in Healthy Wisconsin is laughably stupid.  We're way beyond the pot calling the kettle black.  You're just simply smoking pot now.

Secondly, calling a Health Savings Account a tax shelter for the rich... let's just say it's a good thing you're not in ear shot of me, because your ear drums would have burst by now.  Of course... they are a tax shelter.  But I can't think of a better reason to shelter your taxes than to pay for your own health care!  Why would you want to deny lower income citizens the ability to have a greater percentage of their dollar to pay for medical expenses?  It's not just for the rich either.  Anyone with a high deductible plan can put their money away tax free to spend on their health care.  All the money you will save by having a higher deductible plan will be yours tax free to pay for regularly occurring health expenses.  For some people, that could amount to hundreds of dollars a month that they can put away, tax free!  And if something catastrophic does happen, then you still have normal health insurance to pay for unexpected emergencies.

But that's what you're really scared of isn't it?  Hundreds of dollars every month that you can't get your filthy dirty hands on you bureaucratic son of a bitch.  Hundreds of dollars that decrease your influence every month.  Hundreds of dollars that give less incentive for companies to make corrupt deals with you.