Badger State Forms HCR Agency

Wisconsin Gov. James Doyle, D, has issued an executive order creating an Office of Health Care Reform.

The new HCR office, to be led by the state Health and Human Services secretary and the state insurance commissioner, will develop a plan for implementing the new national health reform programs at the state level.

The office will apply for federal funds for the state high-risk health insurance pool described in the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and it will set up the new health insurance purchasing exchange system described in PPACA.

The Doyle administration also has set up a new state health reform information website, at http://www.healthcarereform.wisconsin.gov