Executive Director's Wisconsin Policy Wish List For '95
The Wisconsin Office of Rural Health asked their ORH Reporter readers for their '95 Wisconsin focused policy wish list, here's mine:
Cost Containment Commission Discontinued
States have two separate choices re containing health costs - regulate individual providers or regulate the market. We believe that assuring competitive markets is the right policy direction. Wisconsin's healthcare markets are becoming very competitive - providers are working hard to do more, better for less.
We believe that the "protection" to existing rural providers through a cost containment commission is totally illusionary - if one of the giants wants to come to your town, they have the lawyers and dollars to out flank any three commissions. The future for rural communities to retain local services under local control is through private sector regional alliances such as the Cooperative, coupled with strong public antitrust and OCI oversight.As rural hospitals and physicians we are working to develop enough presence in the market to balance the more extreme examples of mega-corporate opportunism as well as to advocate for rural sensitive regulation of the market place, not the individual provider. We believe that the time is right to terminate the Commission.
Achieve Medicare Payment Equity
Through a united state effort, gain federal approval for Wisconsin to become a single payment area for Medicare Part B and federal cooperation in developing a Medicare Part B prohibition against payment discrimination based on locality.
Protect Additional Rural Collaboration Implement Wisconsin's Certificate of Public Advantage statute to facilitate local and regional rural based provider networks working together to develop balanced, fair relationships with multiple HMOs and tertiary care based systems. Support Rural Collaboration Development of a privately funded multi-sector Wisconsin Cooperative Center of Excellence for research, education and demonstration projects relevant to cooperative or collaborative health enterprises. Unify Primary Care Enhancement Establishing the Consortium for Primary Care in Wisconsin as the principal forum to enhance statewide collaborative approaches for primary care training, recruitment & retention. Fully Implement the Rural Medical Center Complete Wisconsin's statutory and regulatory implementation of the new unified rural provider classification, the Rural Medical Center, and initiate the federal waiver process.