WiHPCA News

In late January, the Legislature’s budget-writing Joint Committee on Finance released funding to the state Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) intended to improve occupational credential processing efficiencies. In particular, the committee released $1.8 million to DSPS to update customer call center software, implement a 24-hour “AI-agent chat” pilot program intended to answer most “how to” questions, and add six contract staff members to implement these upgrades and to provide customer assistance.

At the end of January, President Donald Trump endorsed Congressman Tom Tiffany (R-Minocqua) in his campaign for governor. Shortly after, Republican gubernatorial candidate Josh Schoemann – who serves as Washington County Executive – ended his campaign. As such, Congressman Tiffany is the sole major candidate running for the Republican nomination for governor.

Also in January, state Senator Rob Hutton (R-Brookfield) announced that he would not run for re-election this year. After that announcement, physical therapist and business owner Mike Roberts (R-Pewaukee) announced his candidacy for this seat. State Representative Robyn Vining (D-Wauwatosa) had previously announced her candidacy for this state Senate seat. This is viewed as perhaps the most competitive state Senate election in 2026.

On February 2, state Senator Steve Nass (R-Whitewater) announced that he will not run for re-election this year. Senator Nass started his service in the Legislature in 1991, as a member of the state Assembly. Following that announcement, former state Representative Ellen Schutt (R-Clinton) announced her candidacy for this state Senate seat.

In January, the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) announced a projection that the state government will have a $2.5 billion surplus at the end of the current Fiscal Year 2025-2027 budget timeframe. This projected amount is $1.5 billion more than previously projected. Most of that increase is due to nearly $1.4 billion in increased state tax collections. LFB’s analysis for this higher-than-expected surplus is due to growth in the 2025 gross domestic product due to a lower rate of inflation. LFB also indicated that a lower-than-expected tariff rate also played a role.

On February 12, the state Assembly unanimously passed Assembly Bill 910, which would put in place a process for each state government agency to review the fees and fines under their respective purview and recommend any updates to the Legislature. Numerous such fees and fines have not been updated in 20, 30, or 40 or more years. It’s also worth noting that fees addressed by this bill include occupational credentialing fees, which are mostly assessed by the state Department of Safety and Professional Services.

In particular, the bill would require each state government agency to undertake a fee and fine review every six years. As a result of this review, each agency would make recommendations to the Legislature to consider updating fees and fines to take into account inflation. However, under the bill, an agency is allowed to recommend no changes to a particular fee or fine. If an agency does recommend an increase to a particular fee or fine, they may recommend implementing it over four years to minimize impact on affected parties.

This bill will now be sent to the state Senate for its consideration.

On January 2, 2026, Governor Tony Evers announced that he will deliver his 2026 State of the State address in the Assembly Chamber of the Wisconsin State Capitol on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, at 7:00PM (Central Time). As he is not running for re-election in 2026, this will be his final State of the State speech. His speech may be viewed live online on the WisconsinEye website, the Governor’s YouTube channel, as well as his Facebook page.

In recent weeks, WiHPCA decided to support legislation that allows family members to ensure that they are able to get their loved ones admitted to a nursing home or an assisted living facility without having to go through a lengthy and expensive court-ordered guardianship process if they become incapacitated and do not have a power of attorney for health care. Under current state law, if a loved one is incapacitated while in a hospital and has not previously completed such a power of attorney – even if they are medically cleared to be transferred – it often takes weeks or months to complete a court-ordered guardianship process.

The Senate Committee on Health voted 4-1 on November 11, 2025, to advance the Senate version of this bill – Senate Bill 578 – to the full Senate. On November 12, 2025, the Assembly Committee on Health held a hearing on the Assembly companion bill, Assembly Bill 598. WiHPCA’s Madison lobbyists will continue to monitor this legislation.

On December 30, 2025, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) announced that it received $203 million in Rural Health Transformation Fund grant funding from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). This award represents the first of five years of such awards from CMS to benefit rural health care in Wisconsin. According to the DHS press release, these dollars will go towards the following initiatives:

·        “Grants for innovative workforce projects in rural communities, support career pathways for rural health care providers, and fund services provided by community health workers.

·        Upgrades for rural provider systems, digital infrastructure, and develop a digital rural health care collaborative.

·        A competitive grant program for rural regions to create coordinated systems of care where multi-sector partnerships show a clear path to sustainability.”

Following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) decision on January 5, 2026, to significantly modify the childhood vaccine schedule – including reducing the number of recommended vaccines for all children from 17 to 11 – the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) announced that they continue to recommend that Wisconsin clinicians follow the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) vaccine schedule. For more information, please view the DHS vaccine guidance documenton the DHS website.

WiHPCA’s top legislative priority for the 2025-2026 state legislative session is the passage of Senate Bill 39/Assembly Bill 23, which would create a state Palliative Care Council to advise the state Department of Health Services (DHS) and the state Legislature on key issues impacting palliative care and the patients and their families that depend on this type of care.

We are very close to passing this bill and need your expertise and passion to get the bill scheduled for a vote in the Wisconsin State Senate.

What You Already Know

• Palliative care is specialized medical care for people living with a serious illness such as cancer, heart failure, kidney failure, and advanced neurologic disorders, among others. This type of care is focused on providing relief from both the symptoms and stress of serious illness with the goal of improving quality of life for both the patient and their family.

• Palliative care is based on the needs of the patient, not on the patient’s prognosis. It is appropriate at any age and at any stage for a serious illness, and it can be provided along with curative treatment.

Why Create a Palliative Care Council?

• This council would analyze existing palliative care programs in our state, as well as identify ways in which health care providers could improve the quality of life for patients throughout Wisconsin. This council will help improve awareness of palliative care – which is often misunderstood, even in the field of health care – address the shortage of palliative care providers and increase access to this valuable type of care.

Additional Benefits of Palliative Care

Palliative Care Saves Costs

• Research has demonstrated that patients in hospital systems with palliative care programs experienced reduced emergency department visits, fewer days in intensive care, and fewer hospital re-admissions after discharge.

• According to a summary of palliative care studies prepared by the American Cancer Society:
• According to a 2020 study, hospital patients who received a quick palliative care referral had median hospital charges that were $56,700 less than other patients.
• A 2022 study found that palliative care provided to adult patients at home decreased their medical costs by 16.7%.
• Hospital patients with cancer who received a palliative care consultation within two days of admission experienced up to 32% lower health care costs, according to a 2016 study.

Status of the bill

• The state Assembly voted overwhelmingly (96-1) in May to pass Assembly Bill 23, which has now been referred to the Senate. On March 14, the Senate Health Committee voted unanimously (5-0) to send this bill to the full Senate.

As you can see, this legislation has overwhelming support in the Legislature. We need your help to get this bill over the finish line! Specifically, we need WiHPCA palliative care agency staff members to contact their state senators to ask for their support to bring this legislation to a vote in the full state Senate.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP:

Please email or call your state senator by Monday, February 2 and urge him or her to ask Senate leadership to schedule a vote on the Palliative Care Council legislation (Assembly Bill 23/Senate Bill 39) in order to improve awareness of this specialized type of care, address the shortage of palliative care providers, and increase access to this type of care. Ultimately, the intent is to better support patients living with life-limiting illnesses.

Don’t know who your state senator is? Just click here and type your home address in the “Enter address” field at the top of the screen to find that out, as well as the appropriate office phone number and email address.

Please use WiHPCA’s sample e-mail when contacting your state senator. This will only take you a few minutes. Simply cut-and-paste it into an email and send it off. You are also welcome to customize it based on your experience with palliative care. [If you do so, please be sure that any anecdotes/information you share is HIPAA-compliant.] If you prefer to call your state senator’s office, you could use the sample e-mail as a script.

If you have any questions, please contact the WiHPCA Government Affairs Team at tim@hovenconsulting.com or nathan@hovenconsulting.com.

Thank you for your advocacy!

 Note to Badger Bay: Please make this a link to the email template that we will provide to you separately.

Unity Hospice announced the 2025 honoree of the nationally recognized DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses during a recent awards ceremony held at Unity Grief and Education Center.

For her commitment to delivering the highest quality of care and compassion, Unity Registered Nurse Tonya Trimberger was presented with a personalized "Extraordinary Nurse" certificate, a DAISY Award pin, and a hand-carved sculpture called "The Healer's Touch" which represents the bond between nurses and their patients. As a DAISY Honoree, Trimberger will also receive ongoing benefits, such as reduced certification rates with the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) and the opportunity to apply for conference scholarships among others.

Nurses are eligible for the DAISY Award through nominations by patients, family members, physicians, community partners, and colleagues for their outstanding compassion and immense clinical skills based upon the following criteria:

• Models empathy and demonstrates a caring attitude in all situations.
• Demonstrates extraordinary clinical skills in the delivery of compassionate patient care.
• Has a positive attitude and demonstrates professionalism in the work environment.
• Exemplifies the mission, vision and values of Unity.
• Establishes a special connection with patients and families.

Trimberger received 5 separate nominations from family members of a hospice patient under her care. The nominations shared the following: “Throughout Brad's time with Unity Hospice, when Tonya walked through the doors, we all felt relief knowing that she was going to check on him and give him the best care possible! Her compassion was unmatchable. She cared so incredibly much about Brad as well as the rest of the family. She was caring, compassionate, patient, calming, and reassuring to each of us, always answering all of our large family's questions & concerns as soon as possible. She seems so passionate about this career. It is more than just a job for her. She has touched each of our hearts and we feel Brad was lucky to have her as his nurse in his final days. Tonya is an amazing nurse who goes above and beyond what she needs to do. The family could never pay her back. She deserves to be recognized for the amazing care she gives.”

Unity encourages everyone who has had an exceptional experience with a Unity nurse to express their gratitude by completing the DAISY Award Nomination form located at unityhospice.org/caregiver-resources.

“Unity is proud to be a DAISY Award partner. The kind of work our nurses are called on to do every day epitomizes the purpose of this international award. It’s a privilege to celebrate their contributions to compassionate, patient-centered care”, says Heidi Warpinski, Unity Senior Director of Nursing and Specialty Services.