On January 19, the Wisconsin State Assembly failed on a 63-36 vote to reach the two-thirds majority needed to override Governor Doyle’s veto of AB 766, which would have reinstated a cap on non-economic damages awarded in a medical liability lawsuit. WHA strongly supported this legislation.

Joining all of the Republicans in voting to override the veto were Democrats Amy Sue Vruwink (D-Milladore), Spencer Black (D-Madison) and Mary Hubler (D-Rice Lake).

WHA continues to work with members of both parties to craft legislation that will restore an effective cap in Wisconsin.

"Restoring the cap will once again put the welcome mat out to physicians," said WHA President Steve Brenton. "If we fail to restore a meaningful cap, Wisconsin is likely to see a crisis in access to care that states like Oregon, Illinois and Pennsylvania have faced without a cap,"

Wisconsin hospitals are already experiencing difficulties recruiting physicians to the state due to the loss of the cap. WHA members continue to report problems with physician recruitment due to the loss of the cap. Claudine Taub, Ministry Health Care’s physician recruiter for the central region, testified that she had been in negotiations with two family practice physicians from out of state to bring them to the Stevens Point area. Both of them withdrew from consideration and cited the lack of a cap as a factor in their withdrawal.

"The bottom line is we only have a very limited number of days when the Legislature is on the floor this session before adjourning for the year," said WHA’s Senior Vice President Eric Borgerding, "and while time ticks away, physicians are not coming to Wisconsin. Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature must pass, and Governor Doyle must sign, a meaningful cap in the next few weeks."

WHA corporate members continue to contribute significant financial support to WHA in 2006. Corporate member support currently amounts to $179,500.

The MHA Group, MHA Insurance, and WHA Financial Solutions are Corporate Champions again 2006, each contributing $10,000. Additionally in 2006, WHA has eight Corporate Partners, each contributing $5,000. The 2006 Corporate Partners include: Dairyland Healthcare Solutions; Gilbane Building Co.; Hall Render Killian Heath & Lyman P.S.C; Hoffman; Lincoln Financial Group; Oscar J. Boldt Construction; Plunkett Raysich Architects; and Sodexho Health Care Services.

A listing of all current 2006 WHA corporate members is below. Full company descriptions are in the 2006 WHA Directory and on the WHA website (www.wha.org). In February, WHA will publish "Business Connection," a directory of services provided by corporate members distributed directly to a variety of hospital decision-makers.

You will continue to see and hear about these WHA supporters in a variety of ways throughout 2006. Please remember to consider these corporate member organizations when you have a need in your hospital, and to pass their information on to other decision-makers in your facility. Additionally, please thank them for their support of WHA and health care in Wisconsin when you see them at events such as the Wisconsin Rural Health Conference, the WHA Annual Convention, and the Wisconsin Quality & Safety Forum. Encourage companies that work with your hospital to consider supporting WHA through corporate membership.

For more information about the WHA corporate membership program, contact Sherry Rabuck or Jennifer Frank at 608-274-1820, or email srabuck@wha.org or jfrank@wha.org.

2006 Corporate Members by Membership Level:

Corporate Champions

The MHA Group

MHA Insurance Company

WHA Financial Solutions, Inc.

Corporate Partners

Oscar J. Boldt Construction

Dairyland Healthcare Solutions

Gilbane

Hall Render Killian Heath & Lyman P.S.C.

Hoffman

Lincoln Financial Group

Plunkett Raysich Architects, LLP

Sodexho Health Care Services

Corporate Patrons

ACUTE CARE, INC.

C2P Group, LLC

Emergency Practice Associates

Freeman White, Inc.

Godfrey & Kahn, S.C.

HBE Corporation

HDR Architecture, Inc.

HGA Architects & Engineers

HSR Associates, Inc.

Kunkel, Bounds & Associates, Inc.

Market & Johnson

Mead & Hunt

Michael Best & Friedrich LLP

Miron Construction Company, Inc.

The MMIC Group

M.A. Mortenson Company

PIC WISCONSIN

Quarles & Brady LLP

Welman Architects, Inc.

Corporate Sponsors

American Red Cross

American Tissue Services Foundation (ATSF)

Arnold & O’Sheridan, Inc.

Ayres Associates

Baird Consulting, Inc.

BDO Seidman, LLP

Berghammer Construction Corp.

Blood Center of Wisconsin

Boldt Consulting Services

Brim - The Hospital Management Alternative

Capstone Quadrangle

J.P. Cullen & Sons, Inc.

Deloitte & Touche, LLP

Delta Dental of Wisconsin

EDS (Electronic Data Systems)

eflexgroup

Eide Bailly LLP

ElderSpan Management, LLC

Eppstein Uhen Architects, Inc.

ERGOtech

Fifth Third Bank

Fitzgerald, Clayton, James & Kasten, Inc.

Flad & Associates

Gardner Carton & Douglas LLP

Graef, Anhalt, Schloemer & Associates, Inc.

Greystone

Healthworcs

Henneman Engineering, Inc.

Hospital Shared Services

Hunzinger Construction Company

INTELLIMED International Corp.

Irgens Health Care Facilities Group

Johnson Controls, Inc.

Johnson Insurance Services, LLC

Kahler Slater

KPMG LLP

Kraus-Anderson Construction Company

LarsonAllen

Marshall Erdman & Associates

MetLife Resources

C. R. Meyer and Sons Co.

Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation Tissue Services - Wisconsin

OutSource, Inc.

PDC Midwest, Inc.

QHR

Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren sc

The Roberts Group

RTI Donor Services

The Samuels Group

Scherrer Construction Co., Inc.

C. G. Schmidt, Inc.

Shared Medical Technology, Inc.

The Selmer Company

SVA Healthcare Services, LLC

TSP, Inc.

Unity Health Insurance

Van Ru Credit Corporation

von Briesen & Roper, s.c.

Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C.

Wind River Financial

Wipfli LLP

Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce

the Zimmerman Design Group

Two health care initiatives included in Governor Doyle’s State of the State message may be promising approaches to improving access to health care services for vulnerable populations.

The Governor’s BADGERCARE PLUS proposal is an important commitment to expanding coverage to uninsured children. That initiative proposes the creation of a single health care safety net program accomplished by merging the family Medicaid, BadgerCare and Healthy Start programs. Projected administrative savings combined with predicted efficiencies associated with enrollment in HMOs are expected to largely finance an expansion of families eligible for coverage under the program to 200 percent of the federal poverty level.

The HEALTHY WISCONSIN PROGRAM initiative also deserves additional study and discussion. The game plan is to charge a working group with exploring the creation of a reinsurance program for small businesses and individuals that would be designed to cover catastrophic health care costs. There are many questions to ponder and discuss before this initiative is ready for implementation, but the notion of looking at specific models already working in other states deserves our strong support.

The important principle of improving access to health care services for vulnerable populations also requires a commitment to restoring caps on non-economic damage awards and meaningful improvements in provider Medicaid payments, which currently rank among the lowest in the nation. Wisconsin must enable an environment where physicians want to locate their practices and where physicians, hospitals and nursing homes are adequately reimbursed for caring for medically indigent patients. And access to affordable health insurance is directly affected by ongoing and escalating cost shifting associated with inadequate government payment.

Steve Brenton
President

The Wisconsin Hospital Association joins with the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce and many other businesses and organizations to cosponsor "Business Day in Madison." This annual event brings business leaders from across Wisconsin to Madison to learn about issues impacting the business community, to meet with their legislators on these important issues and to network with one another. This year’s event takes place at Madison’s Monona Terrace on February 22.

Keynote speakers are Tony Snow, host of numerous programs on Fox News Channel and Fox News Radio, and Barry Asmus, Ph.D., senior economist at the National Center for Policy Analysis. The morning plenary session will focus on liability reform and will be followed by a question and answer session with secretaries from various state agencies. The latter is an excellent opportunity to ask important questions of these members of the Doyle Administration. The Business Day agenda also provides an opportunity to meet with individual legislators.

As usual, WHA’s government affairs staff will hold a members-only briefing in the morning on key legislative issues, including restoring a cap on medical liability. The briefing is in preparation for anticipated visits by hospital leaders with their legislators later in the day.

WHA cosponsors and participates in Business Day as part of its overall advocacy strategy to collaborate with others in finding solutions to current policy challenges, including reducing Wisconsin’s hidden health care tax and restoring a cap on non-economic damages.

Contact Jenny Boese at 608-268-1816 or jboese@wha.org if you plan to attend this event or for additional information. For a copy of the registration form, log onto www.wha.org/governmentRelations/pdf/2006businessday.pdf.

Important Note: Business Day in no way duplicates nor takes the place of WHA’s premier grassroots event, WHA’s Annual Advocacy Day. Some 500 hospital leaders, employees, trustees and volunteers from across Wisconsin are expected at this year’s Advocacy Day, which is slated for April 5 at the Monona Terrace. Details to follow in upcoming editions of The Valued Voice.

The focus of this year’s annual Health Care Administrative Professionals Conference is "Ethics in the Workplace." This program is designed for executive assistants, administrative assistants, business office managers, secretaries and other support staff. Administrative professionals, by virtue of their responsibilities, find themselves from time to time in the ethical crossfire of business activities. Attendees will walk away with a practical guide to identify and handle some of the most common ethical dilemmas.

This is a highly interactive program with reality-based examples and case study discussions. You will recognize your new role in today’s world of accountability and gain new tools to take responsibility for your decisions and pride in your accomplishments.

There will also be a special session presented by WHA’s government relations staff, to provide you the opportunity to learn the importance of grassroots advocacy and how to better advocate with your legislators on behalf of your hospital.

A brochure and registration form is included in this week’s packet. Please pass it on to the health care administrative professionals in your organization.

The conference will be held March 3 at the Tundra Lodge & Conference Center in Green Bay. It opens with an optional networking reception and dinner on the evening of March 2 and continues with a full day of education on March 3.

Many hospital clinical staff, billers and health information coders are now intimately involved in the facility’s chargemaster. Staff with little or no background in billing, coding or reimbursement are being asked to assume the role of "chargemaster coordinator." Trying to "learn it all at once" is often overwhelming and can be costly to the facility.

The educational seminar "Chargemaster 101-The Basics" is scheduled for March 15. Whether a seasoned chargemaster coordinator or an entry-level director, this seminar provides attendees with the "basics" to the chargemaster and tools needed to keep this vital document up-to-date. Chargemaster/APC coordinators especially those new to their position, coding staff, case mangers, reimbursement specialists, business office managers and others interested in learning the basics to conduct a chargemaster review with continual updates and maintenance should plan to attend.

The seminar will be held on March 15, 2006, from 9 am to 4 pm at the Holiday Inn, Madison West. A brochure and registration form are included in this week’s packet and on the Web site at www.wha.org. Online registration is available. This seminar is approved for five (5) continuing education hours by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA).

With over 70 percent of a facility’s reimbursement originating from the chargemaster, the chargemaster is a document which typically undergoes constant change. CMS has instructed hospitals to report all services provided, regardless of status indicator, regardless if payment is recognizable.

The "Auditing Techniques for Improved Reimbursement" seminar will provide attendees with the tools needed to return to their individual hospitals, ready to validate charging processes and identify not only gross revenues but also recognize net reimbursement opportunities. Chargemaster/APC coordinators, coding staff, office managers, CFOs, compliance auditors and others who are involved in the auditing functionalities are encouraged to attend.

This seminar will be held on March 16, 2006, from 9 am to 4 pm at the Holiday Inn, Madison West. A brochure with registration form is included in this week’s packet and on the web site at www.wha.org. Online registration is available. This seminar is approved for five (5) continuing education hours by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA).