WHIO honors Wisconsin champions of healthcare transparency in Congress

Wisconsin Health Information Organization (WHIO) CEO Josephine Musser, along with representatives of its stakeholders – including the Wisconsin Medical Society, WPS Health Solutions, Gundersen Health system, Marshfield Clinic, the Wisconsin Hospital Association, and Aurora Health system – travelled to Washington, DC on September 16^th to present three members of the Wisconsin Congressional Delegation with plaques recognizing the lawmakers as “Champions of Health Care Transparency.”

Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Representative Ron Kind (D-WI) were honored for their successful efforts to advance health care reform. The awards recognize the culmination of a multi-year effort by WHIO and its stakeholders to secure a legislative amendment that expanded the ways organizations such as WHIO could use Medicare data to drive improvement in the health care system.

“WHIO and its stakeholders greatly appreciate the commitment of Senator Baldwin and Representatives Ryan Kind to improving the quality, efficiency and transparency of health care in Wisconsin,” said WHIO CEO Musser. “Adding Medicare data, stripped of any patient identification to protect privacy, to the commercial and Medicaid claims data, also devoid of any patient identification, in the WHIO database will enable much more robust and sophisticated analysis across providers and provider groups so they can clearly see where opportunities for improvement lie,” Musser said.

The Wisconsin Health Information Organization (WHIO) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to improving the quality, affordability, safety and efficiency of health care in Wisconsin.