WiHPCA News

On July 15, candidates for the Office of Wisconsin Governor were required to report campaign finance data – including all contributions – from January 1, 2026, through June 30, 2026. The following campaign finance data from this time frame addresses the current candidates for governor, as of July 17:

Former Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes

• Raised $840,000
• Spent $1.1 million
• Had $240,000 cash on hand as of June 30

State Rep. Francesca Hong (Madison)

• Raised $709,000
• Spent $433,000
• Had $411,000 cash on hand as of June 30

Former Evers Administration Official Joel Brennan

• Raised $666,000
• Spent $858,000
• Had $360,000 cash on hand as of June 30

State Sen. Kelda Roys (Madison)

• Raised $527,000
• Spent $454,000
• Had $406,000 cash on hand as of June 30

Congressman Tom Tiffany (R-Minocqua)

• Raised $8.72 million
• Spent $6.4 million
• Had $3 million cash on hand as of June 30

In the June edition of the WiAHC Madison update, it was noted that state legislative leaders created the Legislative Council Study Committee on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Health Care. In July, the following committee members were announced:

• Chair/State Sen. Rachael Cabral-Guevara (R-Appleton)
• Vice Chair/State Rep. Adam Neylon (R-Pewaukee)
• State Sen. Sara Keyeski (D-Lodi)
• State Rep. Mike Bare (D-Verona)
• Polly Anderson, RN, Senior Lecturer, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh School of Nursing
• Phillip Blair; Vice President of Human Resources; Gamber-Johnson, LLC; Stevens Point
• Dr. Justin Boge, Chief Medical Officer, Incubation Studio, La Crosse
• Glenn Martin Fung, Vice President of Artificial Intelligence, Abbott Cancer Diagnostics, Madison
• Matthew Harris, Chief Digital Information Officer, Rogers Behavioral Health, Oconomowoc
• David Hoffert, Director of Artificial Intelligence Policy, Epic Systems, Verona
• Dr. Mark Huth, President & CEO, Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin, Madison
• Frank Liao, Senior Director, Digital Health & Emerging Technologies, UW Health, Madison
• Krister Mattson, Vice President, Enterprise Analytics & Data Science, Emplify Health, Onalaska
• Madeline Nevermann, Artificial Intelligence Technology Director, Elevance Health Insurance, Milwaukee
• Julie Pawola, Clinical Informatics Pharmacist, UW Health, Middleton
• Erin Skold, Legal Counsel, Mayo Clinic, Eau Claire

This committee will likely hold its first meeting in the coming months in Madison and Hoven Consulting will monitor committee activities.

The Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) – the state’s occupational credentialing agency – recently announced several upgrades to serve customers. Specifically, they have implemented interactive voice routing on their customer service phone line, which will allow callers to select different options based on their needs. This will help free up DSPS staff – which are limited in number due to budget constraints – to assist callers with complex questions. In addition, their customer service phone line will also inform callers what place “in line” they are in to speak with a DSPS representative. In the future, DSPS will also implement an artificial intelligence pilot project, which will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and is intended to answer common questions from callers.

In early July, Forward Analytics – a Wisconsin-based non-partisan research organization that is a division of the Wisconsin Counties Association – released a report that found that, for the first time, the health care and social assistance industry is now the state’s largest employer. Previously, the manufacturing industry was Wisconsin’s largest employer. In particular, the report found that health care and social assistance positions increased from 321,000 to over 463,000 between 2001 and 2025. During that same time period, manufacturing positions declined from 560,000 to less than 460,000.

To read the summary of the report, as well as the report itself, go to the Forward Analytics website.

According to state law, each July 1, the state Department of Health Services (DHS) is required to adjust the amounts that health care providers may charge for patient health care records to account for inflation during the prior calendar year. The following are the updated amounts:

Schedule of Health Care Provider Records Fees
July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027
	Previous Charges	Adjustment for CPI % increase	New Charges

Paper Copies (per page)

First 25 pages	$1.44	$0.04	$1.48
Pages 26 to 50	$1.07	$0.03	$1.10
Pages 51 to 100	$0.70	$0.02	$0.72
Pages 101 and above	$0.41	$0.01	$0.42
Microfiche or Microfilm (per page)	$2.11	$0.06	$2.17
Print of an X-ray (per image)	$14.18	$0.38	$14.56
If the requestor is not the patient or a person authorized by the patient
Certification of Copies	$11.37	$0.31	$11.68
Retrieval Fee	$28.43	$0.77	$29.20

Actual Shipping Costs and Any Applicable Taxes

August Grant Deadline for Most Opportunities

On June 16, DHS opened the application period for three Rural Health Transformation Program grants, which will address efforts related to (1) care coordination, (2) community health workers, and (3) rural dental efficiency and access. The agency noted that it will award a combined $40 million in grants for these three areas of focus.

The following summaries of these three areas are from the agency’s announcement:

• Care coordination – applications due August 21, 2026: These grants support new and innovative partnership models that coordinate care across systems and sectors in rural Wisconsin. These grants will address fragmented systems of care and barriers to access care. DHS plans to award up to $10 million in 2026 for a 6-month planning period. Awardees will then be invited to submit a full application for a 4-year program period. The full grant opportunity will be released to planning grant recipients in February 2027, with an estimated $25 million available in the first year pending CMS approval.

• Community health worker – applications due August 7, 2026: These grants support expanded integration and sustainability of community health workers as an evidence-based care model to improve health outcomes in Wisconsin’s rural communities. These grants will increase the quality and number of community health workers in the workforce in rural areas, enhance programs through training and technical assistance, and support strong infrastructure and connections between providers and communities. DHS plans to award $20 million for the first year of funding. Letters of intent are recommended but not required. Letters of intent are due July 1, 2026.

• Rural dental efficiency and access – applications due July 27, 2026: These grants support dental clinics in adopting technologies that improve efficiency and increase access to care in rural and semi-rural communities. These technologies can help to address challenges that rural clinics face by increasing patient service volumes, improving patient comfort, and maximizing the existing dental workforce. DHS plans to award $10 million through this grant opportunity pending CMS approval.”

More information may be found on the Rural Health Transformation Program page of the DHS website.

In May, state legislative leaders approved the creation of several Legislative Council Study Committees, including a committee focused on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care. The Legislature creates study committees in each even-numbered year, once the legislative session has concluded. Each committee includes several legislators, one of whom serves as the chair, and also includes members of the general public. These committees generally hold several public hearings in Madison during which subject matter experts and members of the general public testify. The mission of these committees is to examine a particular issue and then work on drafting appropriate legislation to update and improve existing state laws on the topic.

The scope of the Study Committee on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Health Care is as follows:

• The study committee is directed to study current and emerging uses of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in health care. As part of its review, the study committee shall consider the use of AI technology in the patient-provider relationship, including use in clinical care and communication facilitation.
• The study committee shall also consider the use of AI in interactions between insurers or medical assistance [Medicaid]programs and patients. Finally, the study committee shall consider the use of AI between insurers or medical assistance programs and providers, including in health care coverage decision making. After these reviews, the study committee shall consider recommending legislation that addresses standards for the use of AI in health care services and insurance.

This committee will likely hold its first meeting in the coming months in Madison and Hoven Consulting will monitor committee activities.

In late May, Wisconsin DHS released its 2025 State Health Assessment. DHS releases this document every five years, which addresses general health and well-being around our state. The report found the following areas of concern:

• Economic stress, including the rising cost of living.
• Mental health, including feelings of burnout and poor access to care.
• Housing, including a lack of affordable housing.
• Transportation, including inadequate public transportation; transportation challenges in rural areas; and need for transportation options to work, health care appointments, and other necessary places.
• Health care, including high costs; poor access to care; and lack of whole-person, prevention-focused care.”

For more information about the Wisconsin State Health Plan, please visit the DHS website.  The full 2025 State Health Assessment may be viewed here.

DHS and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee are organizing the Wisconsin Substance Use Summit, which will be held at the Oneida Hotel in Green Bay on August 5-6, 2026. The summit will feature two keynote speakers, as well as nearly 50 interactive workshops. Interested individuals may attend either in-person or virtually. Registration for in-person attendees closes on July 22, while registration for virtual attendees closes on August 5. For more information – and to register – please visit the DHS website.

The state Assembly held its final session day of the 2025-2026 regular legislative session on February 20, 2026, followed by the Wisconsin State Senate’s final session day on March 17, 2026. In addition, the Legislature reconvened for a special session on May 13, which is addressed above.

The following are highlights from the current biennial budget law, as well as other relevant legislation introduced during the 2025-2026 legislative session.

Fiscal Year 2025-2027 Biennial Budget Law

• Medicaid Cost-to-Continue: The budget agreement also fully funds the state’s Medicaid program – this is known as “Medicaid cost-to-continue.” This funding incorporates enough funding to pay for the increased costs of providing services and also takes into account changing Medicaid enrollment projections.
• o   In FY2025-2026, $1.529 billion is provided and in FY2026-2027, $2.279 billion is provided.

• Hospital Assessment:At present, Wisconsin hospitals pay 1.8% of their net patient revenue to the state Department of Health Services (DHS) – this is known as the “hospital assessment.” This budget agreement increases this percentage to 6%.
• o   30% of these funds will be held in the Medical Assistance Trust Fund, which helps pay for the state’s Medicaid program.
• o   The rest of this funding will be used to make hospital provider payments, resulting in over $1.1 billion in funding to go to Wisconsin hospitals.

• Home Health Skilled Nursing Medicaid Rate Increase: Provide $294,300 in FY2025-2026 and $588,600 in FY2026-2027 to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates for home visits performed by LPNs/RNs employed by home health agencies, effective January 1, 2026.
• Private Duty Nursing Medicaid Rate Increase: Provide $4.7 million in FY2025-2026 and $9.59 million in FY2026-2027 to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates for private duty nursing services provided by RNs and LPNs (excluding PDN services provided by independent practice RNs and LPNs), effective January 1, 2026.
• Personal Care Rate Medicaid Rate Increase: Provide $6.3 million in FY2025-2026 and $12.7 million in FY2026-2027.
• WisCaregiver Careers: Provide $2 million in FY2025-2026 to increase funding for this program, which aims to increase the number of certified nurse aides (CNAs) and certified direct care professionals (CDCPs) in the state.
• Free and Charitable Clinics:Increase funding for free and charitable clinics by $1.5 million between FY2025-2027.
• Federally Qualified Health Centers:Provides $800,000 annually to increase grants to such centers.
• Health Care Provider Training Grants: Provide $1 million in FY2025-2026 to increase funding for the allied health professional education training program.
• University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics: Increases the uncompensated care supplement by $10 million annually.
• Adult Level One Trauma Hospitals:Provides $35 million in grants annually to support these hospitals.
• Regional Referral Hospital Support Payment: Provides $15 million annually to a regional referral center providing tertiary-level care to residents of multiple counties.
• Grants to Health Center “Look-Alikes”: Provides $200,000 annually to such health centers that are designated as federally qualified health center look-alikes.
• o   These types of health centers are community-based health care facilities that meet federal health center program requirements, but do not receive health center program funding. These centers provide primary care in underserved areas.

• State Mental Health Institutes: Provides $15.8 million in FY2025-26 to these institutes to address a projected deficit from fiscal year 2024-25 in the civil patient treatment program.

2025-2026 Lobbying Registrations - Highlights

• Support – Assembly Bill 23/Senate Bill 39:  Creates a state Palliative Care Council, which would be “housed” at the state Department of Health Services (DHS).  The intent behind this proposed council would be to increase awareness of palliative care, which is often misunderstood by the public. Despite extensive and vigorous WiHPCA advocacy efforts, the Assembly-passed bill (AB23) failed to pass the Republican-controlled state Senate prior to the end of the 2025-2026 legislative session. However, thanks to the advocacy of WiHPCA members, this legislation advanced farther than it has during any prior legislative session. Specifically, the Assembly voted 96-1 to approve the bill and the Senate Health Committee voted 5-0 to advance the bill to the full Senate.

• Support – Senate Bill 43 – Signed by Governor: Allows advanced practice nurse prescribers to pronounce the date, time, and place of a patient’s death for purposes of the preparation of death records. This legislation passed the Assembly and Senate unanimously and Governor Evers signed it on August 8, 2025.

• Support – Senate Bill 410 – Committee Hearing Held: Provides a grant to the Wisconsin Institute of Healthy Aging for the purpose of statewide falls prevention awareness and initiatives. The Senate Health Committee held a hearing on the bill on October 22, 2025, but no further action was taken for the remainder of the 2025-2026 session.

• Support – Assembly Bill 598 – Signed by Governor: This bill allows a patient’s representative to consent to an incapacitated individual’s admission directly from a hospital to a nursing home or a community-based residential facility, without requiring a petition for guardianship or protective placement. This legislation passed the Assembly by a vote of 77-18 and the Senate approved it by a vote of 28-5. Governor Evers signed it on March 20, 2026.

Major Political and Budget Dates

• April 15, 2026:Candidates for state office may begin seeking constituent signatures on their nomination papers to appear on the election ballot.
• May 22, 2026:Incumbent elected officials who will not run for re-election in 2026 submit a notice of non-candidacy to the Wisconsin Elections Commission.
• June 1, 2026:Candidates for state office submit their nomination papers to the Wisconsin Elections Commission.
• August 11, 2026:Partisan primary election
• September 15, 2026:State executive branch agencies submit FY2027-2029 budget requests to the Governor.
• November 3, 2026:General election.
• January 7, 2027:Inauguration and beginning of the 2027-2028 legislative session.