Republicans Propose Paying Back Wisconsin’s Malpractice Fund

Republican state lawmakers are circulating a bill that would tap more than a third of new tax revenue to repay money taken from a medical malpractice fund.

The bill circulated for co-sponsors on Tuesday also eliminates the $30 million projected savings the state would see by July 1 by forcing state workers to pay more for health insurance and pension benefits. Because the law requiring the higher payments has been hung up in court, the state hasn’t seen the savings yet.

Repaying the patients compensation fund would use $235 million out of $636 million in tax revenue expected to come into the state above projections over the next two years. The state Supreme Court ruled the state illegally raided the fund to help balance the budget in 2007.