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The state will seek bids this summer from companies looking to run a self-insurance program for state workers, on a regional or statewide basis, starting in 2018.

The Group Insurance Board, which oversees benefits for state workers, on Wednesday authorized the state Department of Employee Trust Funds to request proposals for self-insurance to better determine the cost and impact of such a program.

“We will never be able to make a decision unless we have the information,” insurance board chairman Jon Litscher said. “We will never be able to have the information unless we (get bids).”

A consultant has said Wisconsin could save $42 million a year through self-insurance, in which the state would pay medical benefits for nearly 250,000 state workers and family members directly instead of buying insurance from 17 HMOs. Gov. Scott Walker has said he would spend any savings on public education.

But another consultant said the move might cost $100 million a year. Some legislators and the Wisconsin Association of Health Plans, which represents 12 of the 17 HMOs, said the change could threaten the stability of the state’s regional health care system. Many of the HMOs are owned by providers around the state.