The 2021-22 Wisconsin legislative session has officially come to a close and Congress will soon wind down to focus on the upcoming mid-term elections, but that is no reason for the WiHCPA Advocacy Program to sit back and relax. It’s just the opposite, as there is no time like the present to plan for future advocacy efforts that will advance hospice and palliative care in Wisconsin.
And the WiHPCA Government Affairs Team is doing just that… Working with the association’s legislative committee, we are currently developing WiHPCA’s 2023-24 Policy Agenda, which will identify our legislative and regulatory prioritiest.
Last month, to gain valuable feedback from members, WiHPCA sent out a membership-wide state/federal policy priorities survey, which gave members a tremendous opportunity to provide their input on what issues are most important to them. Please find below the top three policy issues identified by survey respondents:
- Educate the Wisconsin congressional delegation (and state lawmakers) on the potential negative impact and risk to hospice care associated with CMS’ Medicare Advantage VBID “Hospice Carve-In” demonstration.
- Eliminate the nursing home room and board Medicaid pass-through billing requirement imposed on hospice care.
- Promote public awareness and increase policy influence of palliative care, such as the creation of a state palliative care advisory council.
WiHPCA leadership will use the member feedback gathered via the survey to help finalize the association’s top policy priorities and guide our government affairs efforts over the next two years. WiHPCA’s final Policy Agenda will be unveiled and distributed to members soon.
Thank you to all WiHCA members who responded to the survey. Your feedback is invaluable in the advancement of the association’s advocacy program.
