Government
Lawmakers reject plan to raid Wis. injured patients fund
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted June 6, 2005
Wisconsin's Joint Finance Committee last month rejected a proposal by Gov. Jim Doyle to take $180 million from the state's Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund to help shore up the Medicaid program.
The panel voted 14-2 against the measure, which physicians said would have disrupted the relatively stable liability insurance climate the state has enjoyed for several years. The compensation fund helps keep insurance premiums low, which in turn helps to assure access to care for patients in the state, physicians said.
State lawmakers are wrestling with ways to address financial shortfalls in the Medicaid program, which faces a budget gap of more than $650 million by 2007, according to some estimates.
"Legislative leaders did the right thing today, even though it makes their job of balancing the budget more difficult," said Susan Turney, MD, executive vice president and CEO of the Wisconsin Medical Society. "But they realize that the money in this fund doesn't belong to the government and it doesn't belong to doctors, either. It belongs only to those who are injured because of medical negligence."
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/06/06/gvbf0606.htm.
