WiHPCA News

On May 13, the state Assembly voted overwhelmingly – 96 to 1 – to approve Assembly Bill 23, a bill to create a state palliative care council.  This follows the Assembly Health Committee’s 14-1 vote on March 13 to advance this bill to the full Assembly.  WiHPCA has worked closely with the authors of this legislation – state Representative Patrick Snyder (R-Weston) and state Senator Jesse James (R-Thorp) – to both draft and advance this legislation.

This bill would establish a council of individuals with palliative care and other medical expertise to consult and advise the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) on this type of specialized medical care with the intent of increasing awareness and utilization of palliative care throughout Wisconsin. Also, this legislation would require DHS to create a statewide palliative care consumer and professional information and education program, as this type of specialized care is often misunderstood. 

Now, Assembly Bill 23 has been referred to the state Senate.  It’s also important to note that the Senate Health Committee voted unanimously – 5 to 0 – on March 14 to recommend approval of the Senate companion bill – Senate Bill 39 – to the full Senate for consideration. 

WiHPCA’s government relations team continues to aggressively lobby the Legislature to continue to move this legislation through the legislative process. 

Also on May 13, the state Assembly approved Senate Bill 43 by voice vote.  This bill would allow advanced practice nurse prescribers (APNPs) to pronounce the date, time, and place of a patient’s death with respect to completing the death record.  However, the APNP would need to be directly involved with the care of the patient in order to prepare a death record for that individual.  WiHPCA previously decided to support this legislation.

As this legislation passed the state Senate on March 18, the next step is to send the bill to the Governor for his consideration.  Of course, further updates will be provided in this newsletter. 

According to a recent statewide survey, the state Department of Health Services (DHS) announced that there has been a drop in the percentage of tobacco and vaping products that were sold by tobacco and vape retailers to underage customers in 2024.  Specifically, the percentage decreased from 13.6% in 2023 to 11.8% in 2024. 

For more information, please visit the state DHS website.

In mid-May, the Governor’s Interagency Council on Mental Health announced that it is seeking public input to help craft a statewide action plan to address mental health challenges in our state.  This plan will ultimately include recommendations regarding improving access to mental health care and expanding work on prevention. This survey may be accessed hereand will be available until June 30, 2025. 

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) will hold its 2025 Opioids, Stimulants, and Trauma Summit from May 6-8, 2025, at the Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells.  There will also be a virtual option.  According to the DHS website, this “…is an annual event that highlights prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery strategies related to opioids, stimulants, and trauma. All people with an interest in building healthy communities are invited to attend.” 

Please note that attendees must register by May 6, 2025.  To register, and for more information, please visit the DHS website. 

On March 28, Governor Tony Evers signed Senate Bill 68 into law, which extends the electronic Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (ePDMP).  This program helps combat substance misuse.  In particular, this law extends the requirement for prescribers to undertake an ePDMP review prior to providing a prescription to a patient until April 1, 2030.  This new law is 2025 Wisconsin Act 5.

Recently, WiHPCA decided to formally support legislation – Assembly Bill 44 and Senate Bill 43 – both of which would allow advanced practice nurse prescribers (APNPs) to pronounce the date, time, and place of a patient’s death with respect to completing the death record.  However, the APNP would need to be directly involved with the care of the patient in order to prepare a death record for that individual. 

The Senate Health Committee voted unanimously (5-0) in favor of advancing Senate Bill 43 to the full Senate on March 14.  At this time, the Assembly Health Committee has not yet held a hearing on Assembly Bill 44. 

Supreme Court Race

Dane County Judge Susan Crawford prevailed decisively over Waukesha County Judge and former Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel.  With 99% of votes counted, the results for this non-partisan race are as follows:

• Susan Crawford:              55.0%
• Brad Schimel:                   45.0%

Key Points in this Race

• The statewide voter turnout in this particular race is around 50% of the state’s voting age population, which is a record.  The previous record for statewide turnout during a spring state Supreme Court race was in 2023, when 39% of Wisconsin’s voting age residents turned out to vote.

• Crawford’s win will maintain the 4-3 liberal majority on the court, which began after Justice Janet Protasiewicz won her state Supreme Court race in the spring of 2023. Crawford will begin her term on the court on August 1, 2025, and serves a 10-year term. 

• Over $104 million was estimated to be spent by both campaigns and allied groups in this race – which has turned out to be the most expensive state Supreme Court election in our nation’s history. 
• This race featured a high level of spending from very wealthy individuals in support of each candidate, including Elon Musk in support of Schimel and Democratic Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker in support of Crawford.
• President Donald Trump endorsed Schimel in this race. 
• This race was generally viewed on the national level as a litmus test on Donald Trump’s second term as President. 

State Superintendent of Schools Race

Incumbent Jill Underly prevailed over educational consultant Brittany Kinser in a race that did not get the same level of attention as the state Supreme Court race.  With 99% of votes counted, the results for this non-partisan race are as follows:

• Jill Underly:                       52.9%
• Brittany Kinser:                47.1%   

Key Points in this Race

• While this race is also technically non-partisan, the state Democratic party endorsed Underly, and the state Republican party endorsed Kinser.  Both state party organizations contributed a significant amount of funding to each respective campaign.
• Historically, the candidate with the endorsement of the state’s teachers’ union has won this race.  In this race, the union endorsed Underly.
• In this race, Underly faced some controversy when she changed the state’s K-12 testing standards. Kinser also faced controversy, as she let her state educator’s license lapse. 

Statewide Constitutional Referendum

There was also one statewide referendum question on the April 1 ballot intended to amend the state constitution with respect to voter identification.  The following language was included on the April 1 ballot:

“Shall section 1m of article III of the constitution be created to require that voters present valid photographic identification verifying their identity in order to vote in any election, subject to exceptions which may be established by law?"

With 99% of votes counted, the results for this referendum are as follows:

• YES:       62.8%
• NO:        37.2%

Key Points on this Referendum

• Currently, state law requires voters to present photo identification when voting.  However, Legislators who proposed this referendum championed this effort due to concerns that either the state Supreme Court could overturn this law or that it could be rescinded during a future legislative session with a Democratic majority. 

• Proponents of this constitutional amendment argue that voter identification should be required to increase confidence in elections and guard against fraud.

• Opponents of this constitutional amendment argue that this will make it harder for Wisconsinites without photo identification to vote, including elderly individuals and those who are disabled.

De Pere, Wisconsin - On Friday, May 9, 2025, Unity, Northeast Wisconsin’s nonprofit leader in hospice care, palliative care, nonmedical home care, and grief support, will host its fourth annual Luminary Walk to raise funds for Unity Grief and Education Center, the region’s only freestanding Center designed to support individuals and families of all ages who have experienced a death.
The Luminary Walk will take place at Heritage Hill State Historical Park, 2640 S. Webster Avenue, Green Bay, WI. Registration starts at 7pm with many activities, program starts at 8:15 and the walk starts at 8:30. (920) 339-6700 or visit unityhospice.org/luminary-walk.

On March 12, the Senate Committee on Health held a hearing on Senate Bill 39, a bill to create a Palliative Care Council.  At this hearing, numerous individuals testified in support of this bill.  In addition to state Senator Jesse James (R-Thorp) and state Representative Patrick Snyder (R-Wausau), who are the authors of this legislation, the following individuals – including WiHPCA member agency staff – testified in favor of the bill:

·        Siera Williams, RN, Director of Hospice and Palliative Care, Tomah Health

·        Michelle Theige, APNP, Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner, Tomah Health

·        Kimberly Casper, FNP-C, Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner, Tomah Health

·        Agron Ismaili, MD, Medical Director, VITAS Healthcare, Milwaukee

·        Carrie Schepp, General Manager, VITAS Healthcare, Milwaukee

·        Sara Sahli, Government Relations Director-Wisconsin, American Cancer Society

·        Amanda Johnson, Physician Assistant (Palliative Care Specialist), on behalf of the Wisconsin Academy of Physician Assistants

·        A number of letters of support were submitted from WiHPCA members, as well. 

The testimony of WiHPCA members and other bill supporters was well received by committee members.  In fact, no committee member – Republican or Democrat – made any remarks against this legislation. 

The other following organizations have formally registered their support for this bill, but did not testify at the hearing:

·        The ALS Association

·        Alzheimer’s Association

·        American Heart Association

·        Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin

·        Greater Wisconsin Agency on Aging Resources

·        National Association of Social Workers – Wisconsin Chapter

·        Wisconsin Academy of Family Physicians

·        Wisconsin Nurses Association

Very soon after the March 12 Senate committee hearing on this bill, two legislative committees voted to advance this legislation.  On March 13, the Assembly Health Committee voted overwhelmingly to advance Assembly Bill 23, the Assembly version of the bill establishing a state palliative care council.  The next day, the Senate Health Committee voted unanimously to approve the Senate companion bill – Senate Bill 39.  Both bills will now be referred to the full Assembly and Senate, respectively, for future legislative action.

WiHPCA’s government relations team continues to aggressively lobby the Legislature to continue to move this legislation through the legislative process.