Wisconsin State Funded Stem Cell Research

An Open Letter to Health Care Advocate Organizations

As a senior citizen of the State of Wisconsin whose family is suffering from three serious cell-based diseases and who has been working for both private and public funding for stem cell research, I am writing to your organization for support.

As a key stakeholder organization I believe that your group can play a critical advocacy role at this early stage in Wisconsin’s stem cell research initiative. As a large non-profit organization who advocates and serves people with serious current and/or future health needs you know that every effort must be made to ensure that these and all Wisconsin citizens have equal and fair access to affordable medications and other health therapies.

Many organizations like your own have been fighting long and hard for your members so that they will have more reasonably priced drugs and other treatments. Many of you already support federal health insurance programs and favor more universal health care for all of our citizens. Unfortunately there is still no assurance that this goal will be realized.

While we must continue to deal as quickly and directly as possible with the immediate health care crises, meanwhile we must also look beyond the present health care crisis and take action to make stem cell discoveries more affordable to all Wisconsin citizens. To do so citizen membership groups like yours need to support a more lasting and equitable solution to our nation’s health care problems.

Stem cell research is still in a nascent state and suffering from moral controversy and consequent funding gaps. It’s fair to say that in many respects Wisconsin has been treading water while California, Connecticut and other states continue to advance.

While Wisconsin hopes and waits for wider community support our state legislature offers no direct funding or policy platform that would ensure that you and I and all taxpayers will receive any tangible public health care benefit whatsoever from any Wisconsin stem cell research discoveries.

To date we have been promised only indirect trickle-down economic effects, including more jobs and a higher tax base from our support. While this is a worthy and much needed economic benefit, it alone is far too narrow and short sighted. If Wisconsin is to effectively manage its ever escalating and exorbitant health care costs we must act NOW. If we have the will, we will end the disenfranchisement of our most vulnerable and needy citizens of their basic human right to good affordable health care.

A genuine public benefit in Wisconsin for the funding of stem cell research can range from legislating patent royalty rights and a percent of biotech profits beyond a certain threshold, to simply ensuring that drug costs in Wisconsin will be managed and made reasonable and affordable to all citizens.

I urge your organization to carefully consider the following stem cell policy issues:

Will Wisconsin stem cell discoveries be made available to the public at reasonable prices and in sufficient quantities to all Wisconsin citizens? Will discounts be given to low and medium income patients and other underserved groups?

Are policies needed to ensure that special preferences be given to biotech companies that target their cell based inventions to families with cell based diseases and the underserved groups in Wisconsin regardless of income?

Are policies needed to ensure that state supported stem cell companies will pursue research and development into prioritized disease groups such as Alzheimer’s, diabetes and sickle cell anemia versus pursuing stem cell products that have more immediate commercial potential for large markets? Or will Wisconsin citizens spend tax dollars to pay for cosmetic and other personal enhancing products for the rich and powerful while seniors struggle to pay for their most basic health care needs?

Are policies needed to ensure that companies who use state funding direct their research into the widest ranges of illnesses, not just for the most well-heeled disease advocates?

Other policy alternatives and variants are possible to serve the unique public health care needs of Wisconsin citizens but we must begin NOW.

Millions of our tax dollars have already been spent and more have been added to this year’s biennium budget.

State innovation grants, tax credits and hosts of other public financial incentives are being invested and are now in the state’s administrative pipeline. This money is being spent without any policy guidelines or payback conditions whatever. Someone has said, “Asking grantees to do the right thing after giving away the farm is like asking the fox to cough up the chickens after giving him the key to the hen house.”

If these stem cell policy issues are not currently on your organization’s radar screen, and do not now appear on your two year planning priorities list, this neglect could be catastrophic for your members and for Wisconsin patients down the road.

I am asking your board of directors to read this letter and weigh its importance to your membership and other health care stakeholders. The biggest mistake you or your organization could make is to simply do nothing. At the very least put this discussion on your executive committee’s agenda NOW. I urge you to ask your board and your membership to consider this basic question. Do you believe that Wisconsin citizens should receive a direct public health care benefit from any state supported stem cell research in Wisconsin?

For more information on state funding of stem cell research in Wisconsin, see my published articles on my blog: danecountyalmanac.blogspot.com and on the Wisconsin Stem Cell Now, Inc. website