With the state budget process fully underway at the State Capitol, the WiAHC Government Affairs Team remains highly engaged with key lawmakers and continues to pursue as part of the budget bill a 10 percent Medicaid rate increase for skilled nursing services provided by home health care agencies.

In addition to direct lobbying of legislators by Hoven Consulting, (WiAHC’s lobbying firm), we have ramped up our grassroots advocacy efforts by helping our members connect with lawmakers on the issue and have also earned statewide print and television news coverage on the critical need to boost the Medicaid rate to address the home health care workforce and patient access crisis.

Part of our advocacy strategy included having WiAHC testify before the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee at last month’s budget hearings. We would like to thank WiAHC Board Member Tyler Baures who took time out of his busy schedule to testify before the committee on April 28. He represented WiAHC and the home health care industry extremely well and did a tremendous job expressing the need to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates for skilled home health care services.

Click here to read Tyler’s testimony before the Joint Finance Committee.