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Update: WisPolitics reported Friday that Huebsch spokesman John Murray says no way, it didn't happen. He says even the cigarette tax offer "was rejected because it didn't meet [the Dems'] tax-and-spend needs." Per the WisPolitics report, one member of the GOP caucus is demanding Robson's accusation concerning the Fund transfer be confirmed - and if it can't be, is demanding the lie be exposed.

Doyle has consistently (beginning in 2003, with a 'mere' $10M swiping attempt) tried to raid malpractice dollars to balance his budget – and consistently this has been summarily dismissed by a Republican legislature. Senator Kanavas, an ongoing critic of the raids, has called them possibly illegal – and certainly not an appropriate use of the fund.

Governor Doyle’s requested raid for the 2007-09 budget is $175 million. Quite the inflation rate over the $10M requested in 2003.

This year’s Assembly budget prohibited the Governor from raiding the Patients Compensation Fund for general fund – or any other (like the governor’s spanking new health care fund) - purposes. According to the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance, the fund has total assets of $750 million – and liabilities of $690 million. It’s supposed to be available to aid medical malpractice victims – and to moderate malpractice insurance costs for Wisconsin docs.

Note that this tragic raid on a fund that contains absolutely zero tax dollars may only be possible because of 25% increases in required annual payments into the fund. Premiums were increased after a December, 2005 recommendation, when the state Supreme Court struck down the cap on excessive medical malpractice awards; the Fund’s Actuarial Committee noted that “Wisconsin providers are now at a higher risk of excessive damage awards due to the loss of Wisconsin’s cap on economic damages. Information also presented by the actuary suggests that additional and larger fee hikes may be needed in the future.”

So all that cash was just too much for Gov. Doyle to ignore – and ignore it he didn’t. Dang it. Speaker Huebsch – your attempts have been valiant to date. And I know you’re juggling continuous pleas from Sen. Robson to give in on the oil tax and the hospital tax and the recycling fee and, and, and….. Keep at it – you and the Assembly have done a good job so far in reining in the profligate and epidemic fund-robbing both the administration and legislature have become accustomed to.

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