Board of Directors

February 6, 2003

Minutes

 

The meeting was call to order at 8:30 am by WCA President Sherry Walker, DC at the WCA building in Madison. All members present.

 

Motion: Moved by Lynn, seconded by McMahon to approve the minutes of the December 5, 2002 meeting. Motion carried.

 

Motion: Moved by McMahon, seconded by Baker, to approve the following:

 

Applicants seeking regular membership:     

 

            Jerod J. Bergman, DC               Rhinelander

Larry D. Bruno, DC                  Janesville

Nancy J. Soliven, DC                Shawabo

Dennis R. Smith, DC                 Hartland

 

Applicants seeking student membership:    

 

                        Christina E. Lapp                      Life

 

Motion carried.

 

Motion: Moved by Hendrichs, seconded by Varish to approve the following:

           

Members wishing interim status:                 

 

                        Gregory W. Bernard, DC          

                        Thomas J. Friedemann, DC       

                        Jared Holthe, DC                     

                        Amy Jakubovsky, DC               

                        Barbara Meldonia, DC              

                        Kurt Simons, DC                      

                        Jonathon Streblow, DC             

                        Michael Wichgers, DC                         

 

Motion carried.

 

Motion: Moved by Hendrichs, seconded by Baker to approve the following:

 

Members wishing to cancel membership:    

 

                        Elizabeth McLean, DC              Not practicing for 3-5 years

 

Motion: Moved by McMahon, seconded by Lyne to move into executive session for the purpose of discussing the OIG investigation. Motion carried.

 

CARE Initiative

 

The board was briefed on the district meetings conducted by the executive director dealing with the Chiropractic Administrative Responsibility and Ethics Initiative (CARE). To date meetings have been conducted in all of the districts except the Northcentral and Northeast. Member reaction has been favorable in all of the districts except the Southeast where reaction has been mixed. Complete details of the legislative proposal are in the February issue of the Wisconsin Chiropractor.

 

Wisconsin 2003 Budget

 

Governor Doyle has an urgent need to reduce expenditures from every facet of government. Medical assistance is likely to lose a portion of its budget. The board was told that the elimination of chiropractic benefits for Medical Assistance is a possibility.

 

Illinois Managed Care Initiative

 

The board reviewed a decision by the Illinois Attorney General that found that Illinois law prohibits insurers from requiring physicians to split fees with managed care companies based upon a percentage of the reimbursement received by the provider.

 

PART IV

 

The Chiropractic Examining Board has voted to accept the PART IV exam. This decision means Wisconsin will discontinue its own exam. The board was shown data indicating that over the past 3 ½ years 40% of the students taking the Wisconsin exam failed.

 

Motion: Moved by Varish, seconded by Douglas to request the examining board reconsider its decision to accept the PART IV exam and to amend the WCA legislative package to include the requirement for the Wisconsin exam if the board fails to act. Motion carried.

 

Motion: Moved by Bronston, seconded by Baker to approve the financial report. Motion carried.

 

2003 Workers Compensation Bill

 

The board discussed the first in a series of meetings that will result in the 2003 WC bill. Once again, it is likely that the WCAC will request a significant reduction in provider fees. The WCA and the medical society have joined forces to discuss alternative methods of reducing cost with the WCAC that do not involve fee reductions.

 

CCE

 

The board reviewed correspondence from students regarding the loss of accreditation at Life College.

 

Insurance reimbursement to patients

 

The board discussed the approach taken by Blue Cross to reimburse non-network patients directly for their care. The board has referred this to the Government Affairs Committee for possible legislative action.

 

Cold Laser

 

The board received a letter from the Department of Regulation & Licensing confirming that the use of Cold Laser is currently outside the scope of chiropractic practice. The Department requested an opinion from the WCA regarding its opinion.

 

Motion: Moved by Varish, seconded by Lyne to request an opinion on the use of cold laser by the Clinical Advisory Committee. Motion carried.

 

External Review System

 

The WCA has received the first complaints about the external review system. If members do not believe they were treated fairly in the external review process, they are encouraged to send the complaints to the WCA for action.

 

Table to March: Resignation of Brian Markgren, DC – McMahon to call