This short story does not tell the story very well. What the story does not say is that as of June 30, 2012, the Fund had assets of $1,028,483,286. To put that in perspective, since the Fund was established in 1975, it has paid out $807.8 million to people injured by medical negligence. Thus, the Fund has $220,683,286 more in current assets than it has paid out during the 37 years of its existence. The actuaries are expecting the current surplus of $361,987,774 to grow to $461.4 million by the end of this fiscal year on June 30, 2012. Last fiscal year, the Fund paid three injured patients a total of $1.3 million. The Fund assets grew almost $94 million last year. The doctors and hospitals in Wisconsin have had increases in their annual Fund assessments in each of the last four years. The Fund was established to pay injured patients. It was not intended to become a $1 billion entity that will never be depleted.
This is great news for the state.
This short story does not tell the story very well. What the story does not say is that as of June 30, 2012, the Fund had assets of $1,028,483,286. To put that in perspective, since the Fund was established in 1975, it has paid out $807.8 million to people injured by medical negligence. Thus, the Fund has $220,683,286 more in current assets than it has paid out during the 37 years of its existence. The actuaries are expecting the current surplus of $361,987,774 to grow to $461.4 million by the end of this fiscal year on June 30, 2012. Last fiscal year, the Fund paid three injured patients a total of $1.3 million. The Fund assets grew almost $94 million last year. The doctors and hospitals in Wisconsin have had increases in their annual Fund assessments in each of the last four years. The Fund was established to pay injured patients. It was not intended to become a $1 billion entity that will never be depleted.