The Wisconsin Medical Society, representing nearly 12,500 physicians statewide, called the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s July decision overturning the raid on Wisconsin’s Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund (IPFCF) a victory for everyone concerned about quality health care in Wisconsin.

“We are extremely gratified with the Supreme Court ruling because it is a great victory for patients, their families and health care professionals across Wisconsin,” said Society President Thomas Luetzow, MD. “This ruling sends an important message that the Fund is not a piggy bank. The raid was wrong, and justice has been served.”

In 2007, the State of Wisconsin raided the Fund, extracting $200 million to balance the State budget. The Society took the State to court in October 2007 to challenge this action’s constitutionality and restore the money to its rightful place. (Click here to learn why the Society took action.) The Society appealed a Dane County Circuit Court decision upholding the raid, and the Court of Appeals requested that the Supreme Court accept the case in January. Oral arguments were presented before the Court on April 15.

Most Wisconsin physicians are required to contribute to the Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund (Fund), a trust created in 1975 to pay malpractice claims that exceed physicians’ primary layer of medical liability insurance. Over the past 34 years, the Fund has helped keep physicians’ insurance costs manageable and protect patients’ access to quality care, making Wisconsin one of the most desirable states for practicing medicine. There are no taxpayer dollars in the Fund.

“The Fund is a stabilizing influence in the recruitment and retention of quality health care professionals, which leads to better access to health care for patients—something that’s a real issue for more and more of our rural and inner-city residents,” said David Hoffmann, MD, a family practice physician from Mauston who joined the lawsuit as an individual plaintiff. “In fact, before the raid, two physicians from Pennsylvania joined our practice because they wanted to continue to practice high quality medicine but could no longer afford their six-figure medical malpractice insurance coverage in Pennsylvania. One reason they chose to practice here was because of the Fund—it’s critical to maintaining the high quality of Wisconsin’s health care system.”

Trouble for the Fund Equals Trouble for Wisconsin Physicians and Patients

Wisconsin Medical Society—Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund from Big Wild Communications on Vimeo.

Video for the Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund.