Posted: 06.24.2010

A leader in the Wisconsin and Minnesota cooperative community has been named to a federal board that will make recommendations to the Department of Health and Human Services on grants and loans to establish nonprofit, member-run health insurers serving the individual and small-group markets.

Bill Oemichen, president and CEO of Cooperative Network was one of 15 members appointed by Gene L. Dodaro, Acting Comptroller General of the United States and head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to the Advisory Board to the Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan (CO-OP) Program.  The board was recently created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Oemichen, an attorney, has been instrumental in forming health care purchasing cooperatives in Wisconsin and Minnesota. He is the former Deputy Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and the former top trade and consumer protection official for the state of Wisconsin. He has served as a board member for the nonprofit Monroe Hospitals and Clinics located in Wisconsin and Illinois.

“The health reform legislation assigned GAO several new responsibilities, including naming members of the advisory board to the CO-OP Program. A number of highly qualified candidates applied for positions on the board.  Today’s appointees bring a range of impressive credentials and diverse experiences to this important advisory body,” Dodaro said.

Also appointed to the board was Cooperative Network member Tim Size, executive director of the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative in Sauk City, Wis.

U.S. Senators from two states, Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Al Franken (D-MN), Herb Kohl (D-WI), and Russ Feingold (D-WI) all recommended Oemichen for the board position.

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