Legislative Positions

About the WAFP:

The Wisconsin Academy of Family Physicians (WAFP) is a statewide association of Family Medicine doctors established in 1948 to:

1. Promote and maintain high professional and ethical standards in the practice of Family Medicine.
2. Encourage young people to prepare for active careers in Family Medicine.
3. Help provide continuing education to family physicians. The WAFP – a chapter of the American Academy of Family Physicians – represents over 2,500 members, making the WAFP the single largest physician specialty group in Wisconsin. In addition, the Wisconsin Academy of Family Physicians Foundation supports many of our educational and research programs for medical students, including those which would reduce the shortage of primary care physicians in Wisconsin.

WAFP Mission:

The mission of the WAFP is to promote excellence in health care and to improve the health of the people of Wisconsin through the advancement of the art and science of Family Medicine, the specialty of Family Medicine and the professional growth of Family Physicians. We also strive to increase access to quality health care in Wisconsin through legislative advocacy and work to support fair and meaningful legislation concerning health care issues in our state.

About Family Medicine:

Family Medicine is a medical specialty that provides continuing and comprehensive primary health care for individuals and families. Family Medicine integrates the biological, clinical and behavioral sciences, and its scope encompasses all ages, both sexes, each organ system and every disease entity. Family Medicine includes health promotion, disease prevention, health maintenance, counseling, patient education, diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic illnesses in a variety of health care settings. Family physicians serve as the entry point for most of a patient's health care needs and more patients are seen by family doctors than any other specialty. Family physicians are advocates for the patient in coordinating the use of the entire health care system and take continuing responsibility for providing the patient's long-term care.

The Wisconsin Academy of Family Physicians actively pursues and supports legislation to:

1. Increase access to affordable, quality and comprehensive health care.
2. Successfully address the severe shortage of primary care physicians in Wisconsin.
3. Significantly improve the overall health of Wisconsin and its citizens.

The WAFP supports state policy and legislation that:

• Develops & Implements the Patient Centered Medical Home Model – The Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) places an emphasis on prevention and wellness to eliminate unnecessary care and could save Wisconsin’s Medical Assistance program millions of dollars. Under the PCMH model, primary care physicians oversee all aspects of a patient’s care and coordinate a team of specialty practitioners to meet the patient’s needs at every stage of life. Also, qualified PCMH physician practices would be eligible for increased payments for face-to-face primary care services and a per-patient, per-month care management fee for each PCMH Medicaid patient. For more information, please visit the WAFP’s PCMH website at www.wafp.org/pcmh.
• Protects Medical Liability Caps – The current statutory $750,000 medical liability cap on non-economic damages is rational, reasonable and provides stability to Wisconsin’s health care system. It is vital to maintaining affordable, high quality care and in attracting qualified doctors to Wisconsin.
• Preserves the Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund – The WAFP believes a constitutional amendment is necessary to prohibit the use of segregated funds for any reason other than the fund’s stated purpose. “Fund transfers” harm Wisconsin’s medical liability climate.
• Creates Health Care Cost and Quality Transparency – A physician/consumer friendly approach to health care transparency helps consumers understand the cost and quality of their health care and make educated decisions in the health care marketplace.
• Creates Medical Student Loan Forgiveness Program – Wisconsin has a severe shortage of primary care physicians. To help fill that gap, the WAFP supports a loan forgiveness program for medical students who agree to practice in high shortage areas in Wisconsin, with a special focus on those who specialize in primary care.
• Increases Medicaid Reimbursement Rate – In an effort to attract physicians to Wisconsin, the WAFP will pursue increases in the MA reimbursement rate for physicians, especially those that relate to pay-for-performance strategies and/or the development of a PCMH payment structure.