WiHPCA News

Earlier this year, you had an opportunity to respond to WiHPCA’s Legislative and Regulatory Priorities survey, allowing you to provide your input on what policy issues are most important to you, your organization, and the Wisconsin hospice and palliative care industry. The purpose of surveying the membership was to collect valuable data to help association leadership develop the WiHPCA policy agenda and determine what legislative and regulatory issues the organization should make a priority in 2023-2024.

Together, with your feedback as the foundation of the decision-making process, the WiHPCA Legislative Committee and Board considered the following criteria when finalizing the association’s policy agenda and issue priorities: 1.) The benefit to WiHPCA members; 3.) The extent to which it will improve hospice and palliative care in Wisconsin; and 3.) The likelihood of legislative/regulatory success.

With that in mind, WiHPCA is pleased to present members with our 2023-24 Policy Agenda, which will be used to guide the association’s advocacy efforts over the next two years.

The WiHPCA Policy Agenda provides a broad policy vision for advancing hospice and palliative care in Wisconsin and identifies the following specific legislative and regulatory goals for 2023-24:

• Educate the Wisconsin congressional delegation and state lawmakers on the potential negative impact the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation VBID “Hospice Carve-In” pilot program could have on the long-term viability of hospice care in Wisconsin.

• Educate key state policymakers – including federal and state lawmakers and the WI Department of Health Services – on the inequity of the nursing home room and board Medicaid pass-through billing requirement imposed on hospice care. The ultimate goal is to eliminate or reduce the negative impact of the current policy.

• Promote public awareness and increase policy influence of palliative care, such as the creation of state palliative care advisory council.

Thank you to all WiHPCA members who responded to the Legislative and Regulatory Priorities survey. Your feedback was invaluable to our policy agenda development process.

By Hoven Consulting  – WiHPCA’s lobbying firm

• New Occupational Credentialing Application Website Unveiled

On Monday, May 16, the state Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) unveiled its new online occupational credentialing portal – which is called “LicensE”.  This will replace their paper-based occupational credentialing application process.  At this time, most initial occupational credential applications in the health care field – including physicians, physician assistants, licensed practical nurses and registered nurses – will now need to be submitted via this portal.  The list of initial license applications that transitioned to LicensE on May 16 may be viewed here. License renewals and other initial credential applications will move to the LicensE portal at a later time.

• New Marquette Law School Poll Released

On April 27, Marquette Law School released a new poll that surveyed Wisconsinites on their opinions of various national and statewide elected officials, as well as candidates for statewide office. 

With respect to those voters who intend to vote in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senator Ron Johnson’s seat, Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes was the leading candidate with 19 percent, Alex Lasry followed with 16 percent, State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski polled at seven percent, while Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson followed with five percent.  The other candidates received one percent or less, while 48 percent of Democratic primary voters have not decided whom they will support. 

In this poll, former Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch led her primary rivals with 32 percent of Republicans selecting her, former U.S. Senate candidate Kevin Nicholson polled at 10 percent and four percent selected State Representative Tim Ramthun.  However, 46 percent of these voters responded that they did not know whom they will support in the Republican primary.  This poll did not ask about recently announced Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels, as this poll was conducted between April 19-24 – before he entered the race.

At this time, Governor Tony Evers leads in popularity among elected statewide officials with 49 percent approving and 43 disapproving.  President Biden has a 43 percent approval rating and a 53 percent disapproval rating.  With respect to Wisconsin’s two U.S. Senators, 43 percent of poll respondents have a favorable view of Senator Tammy Baldwin and 36 percent have an unfavorable view, while 36 percent of poll respondents have a favorable view of Senator Ron Johnson and 46 have an unfavorable view of him.

In addition, the poll asked about views of the state legislature.  Poll respondents gave the state legislature a 38 percent approval rating and a 47 percent disapproval rating.

Workforce issues have been identified has one of the major concerns for hospice providers across the country. 

So that we are able to paint a clear picture of the challenges hospice providers are facing the NHPCO Workforce Workgroup in collaboration with Hospice Analytics has developed a short survey.

Each hospice can complete the survey by June 30, 2022. 

Grassroots advocacy is the most powerful tool WiHPCA has at its disposal to shape public policy and building relationships with lawmakers is the most important aspect of advocacy. In effort to capitalize on our greatest advocacy resource – our membership – WiHPCA has unveiled our Coffee Conversations with Legislators advocacy program.

The initiative is designed  to help connect members with their local legislators. Under the program, the WiHPCA Government Affairs Team will set-up in-district meetings between WiHPCA members and state lawmakers who represent them in the Legislature. These meetings, which can be located at your facility, or a local coffee shop provides a tremendous opportunity for WiHPCA members to build or strengthen their relationships with local legislators and to educate them on home health care and on policy issues important to home health care professionals and their patients.

Obviously, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic can make it difficult for some in-person meetings, but as cases continue to decline and depending on your comfort level with meeting face-to-face, WiHPCA would encourage you to participate in this critical grassroots advocacy program.

Please click here for more information on the program. Please contact the WiHPCA office at wihpca@badgerbay.co if you’re interested in participating.

WiHPCA is happy to remind members about and provide links to the latest articles and information from Hospice News and the National Association for Home Care and Hospice:

·       SCAN Health Plan CEO Sachin Jain: Don’t Lose Sight of Patients in the Quest for Value

By Jim Parker | April 25, 2022

For better or worse, value-based care may be the most influential concept in 21st Century health care. And with the advent of new payment models, hospices are no longer on the outside of those programs looking in. Read more…

·       Bipartisan Push in Congress to Make Medicare Enrollment Easier

National Association for Home Care and Hospice | April 25, 2022

Legislation has recently been introduced that would work to improve the Medicare enrollment process for individuals nearing Medicare eligibility, aged 60-64. Longtime home care champions Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Todd Young (R-IN) are leading the charge for the Beneficiary Enrollment Notification and Eligibility Simplification 2.0 (BENES 2.0) Act, (S. 2675). BENES 2.0 continues the theme of the original BENES Act, many provisions of which became law in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, in supporting individuals in their Medicare enrollment process. Read more…

·       Rural Hospices, Patients Encounter Higher Needs, Fewer Options

By Jim Parker | April 11, 2022

Hospices that serve rural communities encounter unique challenges to bring care to a geographically dispersed population while contending with a smaller labor pool and higher costs for clinician travel. Read more…

• Hospices Seek Engagement With Policymakers on Payment, Regulation

By Jim Parker | April 8, 2022

In an evolving payment and regulatory environment, hospices would benefit from stepping up their engagement with federal, state and local agencies and legislators. Read more…

·       CMS Proposes 2.7% Hospice Payment Raise for 2023

By Jim Parker | March 30, 2022

The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Wednesday released the 2023 proposed payment rule for hospice providers, including a 2.7% per diem rate increase. The rule also contains a model for phasing in changes to the way CMS will use the wage index to inform payment rates in future years. Read more…

Hospice News, which is part of the Aging Media Network, is a leading source for news and information covering the hospice industry. National Association for Home Care and Hospiceis the largest professional association representing the interests of chronically ill, disabled, and dying Americans of all ages and the caregivers who provide them with in-home health and hospice services.

• 2021-22 Legislative Session Recap: During the session that ended last month, 2,305 bills were introduced, 393 were passed by the Legislature, and 267 were signed into law by Gov. Evers. The governor also issued 126 vetoes, which sets the new record for most vetoes by a Wisconsin governor in a single session.

• Wisconsin businessman Tim Michels recently announced his candidacy for Wisconsin governor, joining a crowded Republican primary for the state’s top elected position. Michels, who ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2004, will face former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, businessman Kevin Nicholson, and current state Rep. Timothy Ramthun in the Aug. 9 primary.

• Earlier this month, the Wisconsin Supreme Court adopted state legislative maps proposed by Republican legislative leaders, which was a reversal of the court’s earlier decision to accept maps submitted by Gov. Tony Evers. The reversal, which is likely to be the final decision on the state’s legislative maps for the next decade, came after the U.S. Supreme Court ordered Wisconsin’s high court to reconsider their earlier ruling.

• The exodus of current state lawmakers from the WI Legislature continues, as Sen. Dale Kooyenga announced this week he will not seek reelection. Please find below a list of state legislators who won’t be seeking reelection this fall:

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:

1. 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.
2. Eliminate the nursing home room and board Medicaid pass-through billing requirement imposed on hospice care.
3. 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.

By Hoven Consulting  – WiHPCA’s lobbying firm

• Governor Signs Bill Protecting Health Care Workers

In April, Governor Evers signed a number of bills that passed both chambers of the legislature earlier this year, including the following bill supported by WiHPCA:

• Proposed Legislative Study Committees Announced

After the legislative session concludes in even-numbered years, the Legislative Council - the legislature's in-house, non-partisan group of attorney advisors - organizes study committees that perform in-depth reviews of various state policy matters facing Wisconsin.  Committees are comprised of both legislators and citizen members. 

Study committees hold hearings, during which they hear public testimony – including from subject-matter experts – on state policies that may need to be fixed or updated.  Once a committee has completed receiving public testimony, it generally drafts legislation for possible introduction and consideration by the legislature.  In mid-April, the list of study committees was finalized.  The following proposed study committees may be of interest to WiHPCA:

·        Study Committee on Occupational Licenses

o   Sen. Rob Stafsholt (R-New Richmond) will be the Chair and Rep. Shae Sortwell (R-Two Rivers) will be the Vice Chair.

·        Study Committee on Uniform Death Reporting Standards

o   Sen. Joan Ballweg (R-Markesan) will be the Chair and Rep. Jesse James (R-Altoona) will be the Vice Chair.

Once the scope of these committees is established, we will share that with WiHPCA members who may wish to consider serving on one of these committees. 

• Upcoming Blackout Period for Initial Occupational Credential Applications

The state Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) will temporarily stop accepting initial applications for 72 types of occupational credentials starting at 12:00PM on Friday, April 29, and ending at 11:59PM on Sunday, May 15.  The list of such credentials may be viewed on the DSPS website and mostly includes professionals in the health care field, including physicians, physician assistants, licensed practical nurses and registered nurses. 

This temporary blackout period will be put in place to allow DSPS to implement its new online occupational credentialing portal, which will replace its current paper application process. This new portal will be unveiled on Monday, May 16. 

By State Senator Patrick Testin (R-Stevens Point)

As chair of the Senate Committee on Health, I’ve had the opportunity to work with my colleagues and stakeholders to advance several bills that improve access to quality health care in Wisconsin. One way to increase access is to address workforce needs; that’s why Rep. Rachel Cabral-Guevara (Appleton) and I authored legislation that eliminates barriers limiting the practice of Advance Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs). By empowering professionals to utilize the full extent of their skillset and training, we free them to provide additional help to more people. We advanced this bill through the committee, it passed both houses of the legislature, and now needs only the Governor’s signature to become law.

The committee also advanced legislation that I authored with Rep. Todd Novak (Dodgeville) that improves access by investing in community health centers. There are seventeen community health centers with nearly 200 satellite sites operating in every corner of the state and serving over 300,000 Wisconsinites. The legislation we passed through the committee served as a catalyst to help secure increased funding for these centers in the 2021-23 state budget.

The pandemic revealed obstacles standing between patients and care that we needed to remove. Last session, the legislature allowed hospitals to seek Medicare reimbursement for numerous medical services provided in a home setting. This session, the committee moved forward legislation authored by Sen. Dale Kooyenga (Brookfield) and Rep. Amy Loudenbeck (Clinton) to make that change permanent. The bill was enacted this week.

In addition to improving access to quality care, the Senate Committee on Health also continued to combat the state’s opioid crisis. Until now, Wisconsin has had several state agencies collecting data on opioid and methamphetamine use, but no central location where it can be stored and analyzed. I authored a bill with Rep. Jon Plumer (Lodi) that will ensure this data will be gathered in a central location so that the state can get a more comprehensive picture of the problem and new ways to fight it. Rep. Plumer and I also wrote legislation that determines how money from the settlement of the multi-district opioid litigation is distributed throughout the state, ensuring that the majority of the settlement go to local governments to bolster their efforts to battle against these drugs. Both of these bills started the legislative process in the Senate Health Committee and have now become law.

We’ve made progress, but the work is not done yet. I enjoy working with health care leaders across the state to enhance health outcomes in Wisconsin. 

Senator Patrick Testin (R-Stevens Point) serves as Chairman of the Senate Health Committee. He represents the 24^th Senate District, which includes Portage County and portions of Wood, Monroe, and Jackson counties. The district also includes the cites of Stevens Point, Wisconsin Rapids, Tomah, and Sparta. He is currently running for Wisconsin Lt. Governor.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of this organization.

Grassroots advocacy is the most powerful tool WiHPCA has at its disposal to shape public policy and building relationships with lawmakers is the most important aspect of advocacy. In effort to capitalize on our greatest advocacy resource – our membership – WiHPCA has unveiled our Coffee Conversations with Legislators advocacy program.

The initiative is designed  to help connect members with their local legislators. Under the program, the WiHPCA Government Affairs Team will set-up in-district meetings between WiHPCA members and state lawmakers who represent them in the Legislature. These meetings, which can be located at your facility, or a local coffee shop provides a tremendous opportunity for WiHPCA members to build or strengthen their relationships with local legislators and to educate them on home health care and on policy issues important to home health care professionals and their patients.

Obviously, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic can make it difficult for some in-person meetings, but as cases continue to decline and depending on your comfort level with meeting face-to-face, WiHPCA would encourage you to participate in this critical grassroots advocacy program.

Please click here for more information on the program.