Month: March 2013

The Affordable Care Act will lead to major changes in the provision of mental health services, American Medical Association president Dr. Jeremy Lazarus told audience members at a Wisconsin Health News briefing last Thursday. Wisconsin's path forward was among the topics discussed by a distinguished panel of experts. (WHN, 3/18)

One year into the program, Pioneer Accountable Care Organizations appear to have hit a patch of rocky water. Recently, the Pioneers - including Bellin-ThedaCare Healthcare Partners and Allina Health - sent the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation a letter asking it keep the program in "reporting-only" status for 2013 while the feds continue to collect more data for its quality benchmarks.(WHN, 3/14)

With the support of the recently formed Chiropractic Society of Wisconsin, Representative Dale Kooyenga, R-Brookfield, and Senator Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, are circulating legislation that would eliminate a requirement that chiropractors seeking a license in Wisconsin take a state practical exam. The proposal is opposed by the Wisconsin Chiropractic Association, which in 2009 pushed to bring back the practical exam. (WHN, 3/14)

Excessive alcohol consumption annually costs state taxpayers $2.9 billion, according to a new, first-of-its-kind report. Overall, the state's fondness for alcohol takes a $6.8 billion a year economic toll and results in 1,500 deaths. (WHN, 3/13)