Good Morning Everyone,
Thank you for your support of Wisconsin Self Health [WISH], full-service healthcare for Wisconsinites, ages 18 to 64. Within three weeks of posting, we amassed sufficient signatures to achieve our initial goal of featured status.
Not only has support come from all over Wisconsin but also from 20 other states: California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia.
In preparation for the upcoming 2023 – 2025 Wisconsin Legislative Session, I asked Senator Feyen, WI Senate District 18, to request the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau [“LRB”] to prepare the WISH statute.
According to Wis. Stat. § 13.92 (1) (b)
(b) Drafting section. The legislative reference bureau shall provide drafting services equally and impartially and to the limits of its facilities and staff. In the performance of its drafting services, the bureau shall:
1. Prepare in the proper form all legislation to be introduced in the legislature. Only the following persons may use the drafting services of the bureau for this purpose:
a. Any member or member-elect of the legislature and, on behalf of each committee thereof, the chairperson.
b. Any agency, as defined in s. 16.70 (1e), created under ch. 13, 14, 15, or 758.
c. The chief clerk of either house of the legislature for requests pertaining to the operation of the legislature.
d. A party caucus of either house of the legislature.
My idea is not new to the LRB. In January 2020, the Wisconsin Policy Project of the LRB published an article entitled, “Direct Primary Care | State Approaches to Regulating Subscription-Based Medicine.” While the article focused upon regulation, the healthcare payment model describe therein is a microcosm of WISH.
"Direct Primary Care (DPC) is a health care payment model in which physicians contract directly with patients to provide care outside the traditional insurance-based system. Instead of billing health insurers, DPC providers charge their subscribers a monthly fee per individual, ranging from approximately $25 to $125 per person. In exchange, subscribers receive unlimited primary care services—including physical exams, management of chronic diseases, and diagnoses of acute illness—usually at no additional cost."
The fundamental differences between WISH and a DPC model are:
1) the DPC model requires the establishment of a new and distinct business with the inherent challenges of sustainable capital funding and qualified leadership.
WISH forms the Wisconsin Network, a joint venture of healthcare providers licensed in Wisconsin (hospitals, medical service LLCs, pharmaceutical companies, retail drug stores, medical equipment manufacturers and vendors, etc.). These businesses are extant and profitable. The Wisconsin Network [“WIN”] enters into a healthcare requirements contract with the State of Wisconsin on behalf of WISH Pool Wisconsinites. WIN is a non-governmental, non-profit organization. WIN sets their prices for their goods and services and establishes their respective members’ procedures for authorizations and payments.
2) WISH provides full-service healthcare.
Thank you again for your support. Take care and stay healthy!
Sincerely,
John