Dr. Timothy T. Flaherty

On February 17, 2025, Timothy T. Flaherty passed away peacefully surrounded by Joan, his “Bride” of 68 years, and his four children. Tim loved hats, in addition to loving hats, he “wore” many different ones throughout his life. He was a loving husband, father, and grandfather. Furthermore, he was a dedicated physician, a Major General in the U.S. Air Force, and an entrepreneurial businessperson.

Tim was born October 6, 1933, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. He graduated from high school in Brandon, about 20 miles west of Fond du Lac. In his youth, Tim worked at a local IGA grocery store and at the Stokely Van Camp cannery where he was trained as a closing machine mechanic. He was so good at his job, that in addition to servicing the closing machines at the local Brandon factory, he was often sent to factories in Plymouth and Appleton to service their machines. Moving further south, college and medical school were completed in Milwaukee at Marquette University. Tim earned his Doctor of Medicine degree in June 1959 and proceeded to complete his Internship at St. Mary’s Hospital in Milwaukee.

Following his Internship, Tim became Captain Flaherty and served on active duty for three years as a Flight Surgeon with the United States Air Force in Amarillo, Texas. After active duty, he moved on to the Wisconsin Air National Guard where he served for an additional 28 years. Upon retirement, after 31 years of military service, Tim had advanced to the rank of Major General (two star) and served as the Deputy Surgeon General for Air National Guard Affairs, United States Air Force. He was inducted into the Wisconsin Air National Guard Hall of Fame in 1997. In addition, during his Guard service, he received the Distinguished Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, and the Air Force Commendation Medal. On November 10, 2019, Tim was honored during half time of a Green Bay Packers game for his many years of service to our country.

After Tim’s three years of active duty, he completed his radiology residency at the University of Wisconsin Madison, during which he was elected Chief Resident. Tim stayed on at the University of Wisconsin for a year as an instructor and then an additional year as an Assistant Clinical Professor before moving on to practice radiology at Theda Clark Hospital (now Theda Care) in Neenah, Mercy Hospital in Oshkosh, and other locations served by Radiology Associates of the Fox Valley. In 1985, due to his continued service and dedication to teaching, Tim was promoted to Clinical Professor at UW-Madison. In 1986, he was promoted to Clinical Professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

When not spending time in his medical practice, or with the Air National Guard, Tim was involved with many professional organizations. He was Founding Director and Chairman of the National Patient Safety Foundation. Additional highlights of Tim’s career include: The Joint Commission (formerly Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) where Tim served as a member of the Executive Committee and Member of the Board; the American Medical Association where Tim served on the Executive Committee, as a Trustee, and as Chairman of the

AMA Board; and the Wisconsin Medical Society where he served numerous positions, including President. Additionally, Tim served locally and nationally with numerous foundations, non-profits, and associations. He served as Board Chair of the Physician’s Insurance Company of Wisconsin (PIC Wisconsin), Trustee of the Medical College of Wisconsin, Board Chair of Wisconsin Physicians Service Insurance Corp. (WPS), and Goodwill Industries of North Central Wisconsin. Given his contributions to the Radiology profession, the Wisconsin Radiological Society named its lifetime achievement award the “Flaherty Lifetime Achievement Award” and made him the inaugural recipient of the award in 2009.

Tim enjoyed spending time at his Bass Lake cottage, which served as a gathering place for the three generations of his family. He enjoyed all types of sports, in particular tennis and golf. He was a member of North Shore Golf Club and Bass Lake Golf Club. His golf endeavors included a “hole in one” while golfing in California. He took great pride in his Irish heritage and loved Irish music and culture. Tim traveled the world with Joan, the love of his life, making friends easily and maintaining friendships over many decades, and across great distances. Ultimately, family mattered most to Tim. He made great efforts to attend his grandchildren’s school and extracurricular events including religious sacraments, Eagle Scout ceremonies, concerts, plays, sports, and both high school and college graduations.

Tim is preceded in death by his parents, Leo and Mary (O’Brien) Flaherty, his brothers-in-law, Larry (Barb) Richardson, Jack Richardson and Hutch Richardson, his sister-in-law, Kathy Richardson, nephew Sean Maher, and nieces Mary (Richardson) Warnke and Bridget (Maher) Lee.

Tim literally fell in love, and ultimately married, “the girl next door” after his parents bought a cottage next door to Joan’s parents at Green Lake. He is survived by Joan, his wife of 68 years, his four children and fourteen grandchildren, Kevin (Anne, Mary Kate, Patrick, Timothy, and John), Catherine (Jim, Killian (Emily), Callaghan and Macartan), Daniel (Beth, Joseph, Grace, Bridget and Curren) and Monica (Eric, Brennan, Luke, and Clara), and many nieces and nephews, all of whom he cherished.

There will be a visitation at the Neenah’s Westgor Funeral Home on Friday, March 7, 2025, from 5-7pm. Visitation will continue Saturday, March 8, 2025, from 9-10:30am at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church, 660 Division St., Neenah, followed by family memories at 10:30am and a funeral mass at 11:00am. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Brandon Public Library (117 East Main Street Brandon, WI 53919) (www.brandonlibrary.net) or a charity of your choice.

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face;

the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,

may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Governor Evers introduced his 2025-27 State Budget on Tuesday night. We are still analyzing the 1,917-page bill. 

You can read the Governor’s Budget in Brief here

The Governor’s Executive Budget here

High-level highlights of interest to WRS can be found here:

Department of Health Services

Medicaid Expansion: Accepts federal funding to expand Medicaid (BadgerCare) eligibility from 100% FPL to 138% FPL. This would cover 95,800 low-income individuals and lower state health care costs by $1.9 billion GPR over the biennium.

Health Care Provider Innovation Grants: Provides $7.5 million GPR in the first year of the budget for health care innovation grants, which would help health care providers implement best practices and innovative solutions to increase worker recruitment and retention.

Office of Commissioner of Insurance

Health Insurance Claims Denial Audits: Recommends establishing a framework for auditing high rates of health insurance claims denials among insurers offering plans in the state over which the office has regulatory authority. To improve the coverage of health insurance plans, the office would audit insurers with claims denial rates above a certain percentage, as determined by the office, and require corrective action plans based on the audit findings. The Governor also recommends granting the office the ability to enforce corrective action plans through fines, forfeitures or other mechanisms to ensure compliance within a certain date of receiving the corrective action plan.

Prior Authorization Exemption Requirements: Recommends establishing a framework to streamline and expedite coverage approvals for medical procedures, allowing insured individuals to receive prompt determination regarding coverage for their care. The office would develop parameters for when services are exempt from requiring prior authorization by a health insurer. Providers who receive prior authorization approvals above a certain rate would be exempt from requiring prior authorization for services provided or recommended by them.

Prior Authorization Transparency: Recommends requiring health insurers to provide consumers with a list of treatments and services covered by health plans offered by the health insurer which require prior authorization.

Public Intervenor Office: Provides $1.3 million in the first year of the budget and $1.4 million in the second year of the budget to create a Public Intervenor Office within the office to provide information and assistance to health insurance consumers to ensure they receive the best possible claim outcomes they are entitled to under their insurance policies. Consumers whose health insurance claims are denied would be assisted with appeals and other legal actions to pursue coverage for health care services.

Balance Billing Regulation: Recommends regulating the practice of balance billing, also referred to as surprise billing, in situations where patients have little or no control or knowledge over who provides their care, such as when emergency services are delivered by an out-of-network provider, when ancillary services are delivered at an in network facility by an out-of-network provider or when mental health services are delivered during a crisis. The Governor also recommends that health care providers deliver a good-faith cost estimate of services to the patient before those services are delivered.

Medical Debt Collections Reporting: Recommends prohibiting health care providers, billing administrators and debt collectors working with health care providers from reporting to consumer reporting agencies when medical debt is in collections status without patient disclosure.

Insurer Network Adequacy Standards: Recommends requiring the office to establish standards for insurer networks for all health insurance plans offered in the state. Establishing network adequacy standards would ensure that a covered service is available within a minimum time and distance of the plan holder, improving access to services. The office may also establish further standards that are found to improve access to services, such as maximum wait times for scheduling appointments.

Department of Safety and Professional Services

Statewide Clinician Wellness Program: Provides $800,000 per year for the establishment of a statewide clinician wellness program to support health care providers.

Advanced Practice Registered Nursing: Recommends establishing a new system of licensure that allows registered nurses to be licensed by the Board of Nursing as advanced practice nurse practitioners, giving the advanced practice nurse practitioners a greater scope of practice, such as issuing prescription orders and delegating certain tasks to other clinically trained health care workers.

Physician Title Protection: Prohibits a person who is not licensed as a physician from using physician-related titles like radiologist. 

Licensing Mobility and Interstate Healthcare Workforce:  Provides 3.0 positions and expenditure authority to enhance licensure opportunity in Wisconsin through health-related multistate compacts and reciprocity agreements.

Credentialing: Provides an additional $875,500 per year and 10 positions to ensure efficient and effective processing of license and credential applications, which will improve the customer experience and ensure the safety and economic well-being of Wisconsin residents.

Customer Communication: Provides an additional $956,400 in the first year and $1 million and an additional 14 positions to meet public demand for licensed occupation assistance.

Governor Evers will deliver his 2025-27 state budget address tonight at 7 p.m. You can watch the address on WisconsinEye (https://wiseye.org/) or on PBS Wisconsin. 

The budget documents are typically released shortly after the Governor is speaking, and we will share them with you once they are available. 

Today is also the Spring Primary! The only statewide primary is the race for State Superintendent of Public Instruction, but there may be local races on your ballot. Polls are open until 8 p.m.!

One of the highest honors that the ACR can bestow on a member is recognition as a Fellow of the American College of Radiology.

ACR Fellows demonstrate a history of service to the College, organized radiology teaching or research. Approximately 15% of ACR members achieve this distinction.

The FACR page offers guidelines on applying to become a Fellow: https://www.acr.org/Membership/Awards-and-Honors/FACR

Contact FACR@acr.org for application support.

Reach out to the Wisconsin Chapter Fellowship Chair with Questions: Dr. Candace Johnstone: cjohnstone@mcw.edu

The Wisconsin chapter leadership looks forward to supporting you on your pathway to become an FACR. Wisconsin Application Deadline is June 1, 2025.

The Committee on Chapters (CoC) has several openings for interested volunteers to begin June 1, 2025. Under the purview of the Commission on Membership and Communications, the CoC works as a team and with ACR chapter leaders to fulfill the mission of the College and enable strong chapters. The Committee seeks to serve as a source of grassroots input from chapters to the ACR Board of Chancellors and to the Council Steering Committee.

Time Commitment: The Committee on Chapters meets approximately four times a year virtually to discuss global chapter needs, to plan the annual Chapter Leaders Workshop, and review and score chapter awards. Each committee member also serves as a resource to several chapters to facilitate participation in chapter programs and committee initiatives. Committee members are also expected to attend the Chapter Leaders Workshop at ACR annual meeting each year, if their schedule allows. Terms of service are for one-year, with annual reappointments up to a max of four years.

Eligibility: The Committee is comprised of ACR members in good standing from a mix of geographic locations and chapter sizes across all ACR chapters. Experience serving in a chapter leadership capacity, such as an officer (President, Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer, etc.) or councilor/alternate councilor is strongly preferred.

If you are interested in serving, please visit Volunteer Link to submit your application for consideration by Tuesday, April 1.

Note: A limited number of open seats are available, and not all applicants will be accepted. All applications will be kept on file for future volunteer position consideration.

New this year is an exciting opportunity for specialty society sponsors to present at Doctor Day.

Presentations could include but are not limited to;

• Effective Advocacy Techniques
• Key Legislative Issues
• Engaging Stakeholders and Building Coalitions
• Maximizing PAC Influence and PAC Contributions

Accepted presentations will be featured during the policy breakouts in the morning. Sessions may be 15-45 minutes, and presented by physician leaders.  Presentation Submissions are due February 28, 2025 and final selections confirmed by March 31.

Learn more here.

Governor Evers will deliver his annual State of the State address tonight at 7 p.m. You can watch the address on Wisconsin Eye , the Governor's YouTube channel, or on PBS Wisconsin. 

The Governor's office has already released excerpts from the speech, which include highlighting that his upcoming state budget bill will provide $300 million for mental health services in schools.

Election Day is less than two weeks away! There are races for U.S. President, U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, even-numbered State Senate Districts, and all 99 State Assembly seats. Voters will also have a proposed state constitutional amendment on their ballots related to the eligibility to vote. There are also many school referenda throughout the state.

Due to legislative redistricting, this will be one of the most competitive election cycles in recent memory for state assembly and state senate. Republicans are very likely to maintain control of the State Senate. Democrats have a path to gain control of the State Assembly, though it’s a challenging one. We’ve compiled a list of races to watch, which is attached. 

Make sure you have a plan to vote!

Review Your Sample Ballot: You can see all of the races and referenda that will be on your ballot before you vote early or head to the polls! Visit: https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/Whats-On-My-Ballot 

Early Voting (In-Person Absentee): Early voting started October 22 and goes until Sunday, November 3. Hours and locations vary by municipality; contact your municipal clerk for details. 

Absentee Ballot (By Mail): The deadline to request that an absentee ballot be mailed to you is Thursday, October 31. However, completed absentee ballots must be received by the clerk’s office by 8 p.m. on Election Day in order to be counted, so time is running out to use this option. 

Election Day: Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 5. You can register to vote at the polls.

It is with sorrow that I write to share with you that this past Monday, Andrew B. Crummy, Jr., MD passed away at the age of 93. In addition to being an innovator in our field, he was a beloved and respected colleague to many.  

Dr. Crummy completed an internship and residency at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in 1961. After completing his fellowship at Yale-New Haven Medical Center in 1963, he returned to Madison and joined our department. He immediately made his mark by introducing cutting-edge arteriography techniques to cardiovascular and neuroradiology, as well as championing ultrasound as a diagnostic tool. Later, he collaborated closely with Chuck Mistretta and other Medical Physics colleagues on the development and translation of digital subtraction angiography, one of the most important advances in medical imaging in the 20th century.

During his 33 years in radiology, the field expanded from the vascular arena to the broad-based specialty of interventional radiology. He helped establish the subspeciality and was a founding member of the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR), which awarded him the Gold Medal in 2011. He also received the 2013 Flaherty Lifetime Achievement Award from the Wisconsin Radiological Society for his extraordinary contributions to the practice of radiology in the state.

Details of Dr. Crummy’s obituary and memorial services will be shared when available.

Please keep Dr. Crummy’s family and loved ones in your thoughts.

State agencies have sent their 2025-27 state budget requests to Governor Evers. He will use these documents as he prepares his state budget bill, which will likely be introduced in February 2025. 

Most agencies issued cost-to-continue budgets that did not request new GPR expenditures, per the Governor’s budget instructions.  The Governor is not tied to these requests, they are simply a guide as he puts his budget together. It is estimated that the state will have a $3.1 billion surplus at the end of the 2024-25 fiscal year. 

Highlights from relevant agency budgets can be found below.

Department of Safety and Professional Services

DSPS writes in its budget request that it does not have enough FTE staff to fulfill its mission. They note that they have not received their full budget request in any of the last four budgets. Instead, they say, they have had to rely on temporary federal funding. DSPS says that six of the 13 temporary staff positions they received approval for in the last budget are expiring at the end of Fiscal Year 2025. An additional nine federally supported positions and 15 contracted call center staff expire at the end of FY 2025. 

Maintaining Customer Service Center Staff Levels: DSPS requests 14.0 FTE permanent Office Operations Associate positions and ongoing funding of $707,000 PR-O in FY 26 and $938,700 PR-O in FY 27 to allow the department to meet the demand for licensed occupations and ensure the safety and economic wellbeing of the people of Wisconsin. DSPS says this funding and staffing level is needed to maintain the current average call-answered rate of 86%.

Credential Processing Staff: DSPS requests authorization for 10 FTE permanent positions and ongoing funding of $659,600 PR-O in FY 26 and $875,500 PR-O in FY 27 to ensure continuation of efficient and effective processing of license applications.

Data-Driven Decision Making and Business Intelligence: DSPS requests a 1.0 FTE permanent Research Analyst-Advanced position and ongoing funding of $60,800 PR-0 in FY 26 and $77,100 PR-0 in FY 27 to use data-driven information to improve internal processes and information dissemination for applicants, educational institutions, and employers. With the automation of the DSPS's credentialing, enforcement and compliance processes, the agency has an opportunity to use the data gleaned from these systems to predict workforce trends, accelerate the pathway to licensure, and develop programs that will educate credential holders.