Month: December 2011

A program designed to improve the health of farmers and their families is expanding into Outagamie and Waupaca counties. (APPLETON POST CRESCENT, 12/8)

Wisconsin rose to 13th in an annual ranking of overall health in a year when the nation's health showed no improvement. The state continues to rank high in its high school graduation rate, the percent of the population with health insurance, its low incidence of infectious disease and the relatively low percentage of children living in poverty. (JOURNAL SENTINEL, 12/7)

Physicians Plus is suing UW-Madison's doctor group, saying the doctors' threat to stop treating the insurance company's patients is illegal. Physicians Plus, owned by Meriter Health Services, says the doctor group, UW Medical Foundation, demanded fees that are too high. (WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL, 12/7)

The Wisconsin Health Information Organization - a statewide group that has been at the forefront of analyzing insurance claims to lessen the variation in the cost and quality of health care - applauded the federal government's move on Monday to allow access to Medicare's claims database. "The very good news is the state has some good initiatives that will benefit from getting access to Medicare claims data," said Julie Bartels, chief executive of the organization. (JOURNAL SENTINEL, 12/6)