An Ol’ Broad’s Ramblings
Gov. Dopey - Thief?
Can the man be any more of a slime? Probably.
Commentary: Governor wrong in attempt to take from Patients Fund
Governor Feckless Weasel
It has come to my attention that in the Fond du Lac area, as well as surrounding communities, most people are unaware of what Gov. Doyle’s plans are in order to balance the budget. Prepare yourself.
First, I would like to provide you with some background on a fund that was established for physicians to protect patients in case there was a malpractice suit. Physicians have paid into this fund since it was established in 1975. They pay their own private money to support this pool of cash. There are no tax dollars in the fund, formally known as the Patients Compensation Fund.
Why do we do this? First of all, we decided in our State Medical Society that all physicians should take the responsibility of protecting patients who are wrongfully injured by a malpractice, and by contributing to this fund, we have been able to do just that.
Gov. Doyle has tried to steal $200 million in 2003 and $179 million in 2005 from this fund to help balance the state budget. We have been able to prevent the past two attempts by proving to our legislators that it is immoral to steal this money from the patients for whom it was intended.
Again, these are private contributions. There is no taxpayer money in the fund.
In addition, if Gov. Doyle is successful in stealing this money to help balance the budget, several devastating repercussions will occur as a result. The most important is that our patients and their families will be unfairly cheated out of what they deserve. This money belongs to the patients, and should not be used to balance Gov. Doyle’s budget.
I could go on and on, but I want to get my final appeal to you as a concerned citizen.
The Senate vote to approve this budget likely will take place this week. Time is of the essence: We need you to contact your Senators and Assembly representatives and tell them that this is wrong.
I would also like to thank state Sen. Carol Roessler, Rep. John Townsend and Rep. Carol Owens for all of their hard work and support. They have done a wonderful job so far, and we as physicians are grateful.
I felt it was my duty as a physician, as a resident of Fond du Lac and as a representative of the Wisconsin Medical Society to let the public know what is happening.
I also would like to offer your readers the opportunity to help us win this battle. All your readers need to do is to contact their area representatives, by phone, e-mail or fax.
Dr. Karen L. Meyer of Fond du Lac is a delegate to the Wisconsin Medical Society.
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