Over the last few weeks, Governor Evers has taken action on numerous bills, including the following bills of interest to WiHPCA:
- Signed - Senate Bill 178 – Creates a requirement, in certain circumstances, for physicians, authorities of various medical institutions, or other persons required to report deaths under current law to contact a medical examiner or coroner within 24 hours after an individual either has presented at or is admitted to a hospital or similar institution, whichever is earlier, to determine whether the medical examiner or coroner is required to investigate a death. Thanks to WiHPCA advocacy efforts, via an amendment we lobbied for, hospices were made exempt from the requirements of the new law. The Governor signed an amended bill on March 22.
- Vetoed - Senate Bill 158 – Proposed creating a preliminary health care credential that is available to individuals who have completed the requirements for the corresponding permanent or training health care credential while they await a decision from the Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) regarding their application for the permanent or training credential. The Governor vetoed this bill on March 29, issuing the following statement in his veto message:
- “I am vetoing this bill because I object to potentially reducing patient protections from individuals who have a disqualifying criminal background by allowing unlicensed individuals to receive preliminary healthcare credentials based solely upon their own attestations and employer-conducted background checks. The department would have no way to discern the veracity of an employer-conducted background check and no ability to hold employers accountable for false or neglectful attestations.”
