GMCHP was organized in 1971 in partnership with Saint Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield and the insurer Blue Cross Associated Hospital Services of Wisconsin, making it the first HMO in the state. The purpose of its organization was to offer a prepaid health plan to a rural population that often had difficulty attaining adequate healthcare coverage. GMCHP sought to cater to entire rural communities including the elderly and low-income groups. In working with the federal government, GMCHP promoted legislation in Wisconsin that enabled it to become the first HMO in the state to provide prepaid care to Medicaid patients. It was also one of the first plans in the nation to participate in a federal project that evaluated HMO effectiveness for Medicare patients and was found to serve more Medicare patients than any other HMO that participated in the study. GMCHP spread its services over time largely by forming agreements with rural local healthcare providers, a task not easily accomplished. Among the difficulties faced by the plan was the fact that it had different long-term goals than its main partner, Blue Cross Associated Hospital Services of Wisconsin. When Blue Cross reorganized in the early 1980s to form Blue Cross Blue Shield United of Wisconsin, relations further deteriorated as GMCHP struggled to uphold its mission. Government reimbursement losses suffered in the early 1980s from participation in Medicare and Medicaid coupled with rising costs and increased competition lead to the eventual demise of the plan in 1986.
The donor, Jan Coombs, is an author who obtained the collection from Dr. Russell F. Lewis, one of the original founders of the Greater Marshfield Community Health Plan. Coombs used the collection as a case study for her book, “The Rise and Fall of HMOs: An American Health Care Revolution.”
