In a letter made public Monday from top Assembly Republicans to Wisconsin Medical Society members, Republicans accused WMS leaders of undermining the Assembly’s ability to stop a provision in the state budget with a January 2007 memo to Gov. Jim Doyle.
The WMS filed a lawsuit against the state over the provision, a transfer from the Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund Monday, Oct. 29. WMS is the state’s largest doctors association.
According to Assembly Republicans, a WMS memo attached to the Republican letter showed WMS would have allowed a transfer.
The final transfer was a one-time use of $200 million from the IPFCF, which is money set aside by doctors and hospitals for possible medical malpractice payments.
The Republican letter said Doyle and Senate Democrats used the WMS memo to advocate for transferring the IPFCF money.
“Our ability to effectively argue against an IPCFC transfer is greatly diminished when the organization representing those who would be most affected by the transfer of funds out of the IPFCF changes course,” the Republican letter stated.
WMS spokesperson Mike Grapentine said the initial memo was misunderstood and was later corrected in an April memo.
“At no point has [WMS] been in favor of transferring money from the fund,” Grapentine said. “We’ve been working hard since 2003 to protect the fund and actually a lot of legislators have been as well.”
Carla Vigue, spokesperson for Doyle, said the medical society weighed in throughout the budget process. Vigue said the transfer was legal because the Legislature created the fund.
The letter to WMS members also said the Republicans were unaware of the memo until after Doyle submitted his budget to the Legislature.
Carrie Lynch, spokesperson for state Sen. Russ Decker, D-Weston, said Decker gave the memo about the WMS position to Republicans.
“[Decker] gave the memo to Republicans to make sure that everyone knew what the [WMS] position was on the transfer at the time,” Lynch said.
Grapentine said the WMS never offered money from the fund, and the transfer is illegal.
Assembly Republican leadership was unavailable as of press time.
