With a Half Million Residents Lacking Prescription Drug Coverage, Wisconsin's Expanding Benefit Plan Seen as Fix

HealthLeaders-InterStudy, a leading provider of managed care industry intelligence, finds that individuals in Wisconsin without prescription drug coverage will be able to join the state's successful BadgerRx program on April 1. According to the latest issue of the Wisconsin Health Plan Analysis from HealthLeaders-InterStudy, the program began as a benefit plan for state employees and retirees, but was expanded to businesses last July.

"Now more than 220,000 private-sector employees and family members have been included in the state drug-purchasing pool," said Ric Gross, HealthLeaders-InterStudy analyst. "During the plan's first year of operation, it saved an estimated $25 million."

  Other Health Plan News in Wisconsin:   * Gov. Jim Doyle's proposal to transfer $180 million from the state's     Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund to the Medicaid program     is meeting with controversy.   * Commercial HMOs in the Badger State are improving their financials.   * A health savings account bill is again making its way through the state     Legislature, though it is still opposed by the governor, who vetoed it     last year.    About HealthLeaders-InterStudy 

HealthLeaders-InterStudy, a newly formed company of Decision Resources, Inc. (http://www.decisionresources.com/), is the authoritative source for managed care data, analysis, and news. For more information, please visit both Web sites at http://www.healthleaders.com/ and http://www.interstudypublications.com/.

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  For more information, contact:    Elizabeth Marshall    Decision Resources    781-296-2563    emarshall@dresources.com 

SOURCE: Decision Resources, Inc.