Public Health Fund’s Oversight by Insurance Commissioner Nickel Questioned
Madison, WI –ABC for Health sent an open letter to Commissioner of Insurance Ted Nickel urging him to update and clarify an Insurance Commissioner Order to improve oversight and stewardship of the more than $800 million in public money entrusted to Wisconsin’s two medical schools to help improve public health in Wisconsin. These public funds resulted from the Blue Cross Blue Shield conversion to a for-profit company in 2001 with the funds directed to the medical schools as trustees. Advocacy and Benefits Counseling for Health, Inc. (ABC for Health) is a Wisconsin-based nonprofit, public interest law firm that has played a consumer watchdog role over the conversion process and monitored the use of these public funds. In addition, a 2010 audit conducted by the Legislative Audit Bureau raised additional questions about the appropriate use and stewardship of these funds by the schools.
In the open letter to the Insurance Commissioner, ABC for Health urges the Commissioner to update and supplement the original Order, issued in 2001, in order to clarify and enforce the process used by the schools to promote the health of the public in Wisconsin. ABC for Health also included a ten point plan to improve management and enforcement of the medical schools’ stewardship of these public funds. “As trustees, the medical schools must prioritize and use these funds to directly benefit and improve the health status of the people of Wisconsin,” said Bobby Peterson, executive director of ABC for Health. In its ten point plan, ABC for Health proposes improvements to grants oversight and review, elimination of excessive UW Foundation fees, annual audits and reporting of function and progress, as well as annual public meetings to review funding priorities. ABC for Health also urges the Wisconsin United for Health Foundation Board (WUHF) to support additional investigative and enforcement authority that the original order lacked.
Peterson continues, “ABC for Health provides a step-by-step process for Commissioner Nickel to improve the original Order and dramatically improve funding oversight and health outcomes for the people of Wisconsin. The health landscape has changed dramatically since the original Order in 2001, and a supplemented Order will better reflect Wisconsin’s current public health landscape.”
ABC for Health is a Wisconsin-based, nonprofit, public interest law firm dedicated to linking children and families, particularly those with special health care needs, to health care benefits and services. ABC for Health’s mission is to provide information, advocacy tools, legal services and expert support needed to obtain, maintain, and finance health care coverage and services.
