Earlier this month, the WiAHC Legislative Committee approved the association’s policy agenda for the 2025-2026 state legislative session.  The priorities are as follows:

• Increase the physical and occupational therapist workforce in rural Wisconsin by creating a grant- based incentive program and grow/strengthen Wisconsin’s home health care workforce generally.

• Support efforts to create a state Palliative Care Council.

• Promote harmonization of federal and state home health care regulations by eliminating “professional advisory bodies” in state regulations, while retaining patient protections.

• Work with the state Department of Health Services to continuously improve the Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) program.

• Promote increased utilization of home health care in Wisconsin.

On October 22, WiAHC Madison lobbyist Nathan Butzlaff presented a Champion of Home Health Care award to state Representative Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam).  This award, which WiAHC presents to state legislators at the end of every two-year legislative session, was presented to Rep. Born in his capacity as Assembly Co-Chair of the Joint Committee on Finance.  As a co-chair, he helped lead the approval of the Fiscal Year 2023-2025 state budget that included a continuation of the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) five percent increase from April 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025.  This continuation of funds has directly benefited home health agencies statewide.   

WiAHC Madison lobbyists Tim Hoven and Nathan Butzlaff previously presented the other Champion of Home Health Care award to state Senator Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green), the Senate co-chair of the Joint Committee on Finance, as he also helped lead the approval of the budget that includes the funding described above.

The WiAHC-WiHPCA Joint Fall Conference was a great event, one that provided home health care and hospice professionals with fantastic educational content and networking opportunities. Public policy and legislative issues were also a topic of discussion at the conference, which was sparked by State Representative Dave  Maxey (R-New Berlin) who helped open the conference that was held near his district in Brookfield, WI. In addition to providing brief comments before the full conference, Rep. Maxey had a long discission with several members regarding the policies important to both WiAHC and WiHPCA. Our Government Affairs Team will certainly be working with Rep. Maxey during the 2025-26 legislative session.

The results of the November 5 general election once again show how Wisconsin is indeed a purple state.  While Wisconsinites narrowly voted to elect former President Donald Trump, a Republican, to the Presidency, our state’s voters also re-elected Democrat Tammy Baldwin to the U.S. Senate.  This is a situation that has not occurred in Wisconsin in over half a century. 

In the State Assembly and Senate, the current Republican majorities lost a total of 14 seats – 10 in the Assembly and 4 in the Senate.  It was expected that Republicans would lose seats in both chambers of the Legislature, but not enough to lose the majority – which is what happened.  This was due to the fact that new legislative districts were put in place earlier this year. 

For a full list of newly-elected state legislators, including photos and a very brief background on each individual, please visit the WisPolitics website. 

The following are highlights from the two federal races of note – the race for President and for U.S. Senate:

President

In a race that many observers thought might take several days to finalize, former President Donald Trump prevailed in the nationwide electoral college count over incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris.  The Wisconsin results are as follows:

• Former President Donald Trump (R):  49.7% 
• Vice President Kamala Harris (D):  48.8%

U.S. Senate

For much of 2024, incumbent U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin held a 5-10% lead over challenger Eric Hovde in the election polls.  As the November election got closer, the polls tightened considerably.  The results are as follows:

• U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D):  49.4%
• Eric Hovde (R):  48.5%

State Assembly

Currently, there is a 64-34 Republican majority in the state Assembly, with one vacant seat in a majority Democratic district in the city of Milwaukee.  All 99 Assembly seats were up for election this year. 

On Election Day, Republicans won 54 Assembly races, which gives them the majority for the 2025-2026 legislative session.  Assembly Republicans now will have 10 fewer seats than they did during the 2023-2024 legislative session.  Democrats won 45 Assembly races. 

State Senate

At this time, Republicans have a supermajority in the state Senate, with 22 senators, while Democrats have 10 senators, with one vacant seat in a heavily Democratic district in the city of Milwaukee.  Roughly half of the senate seats are up for election every two years.  As such, 16 of the 33 Senate seats were up for election this year. 

The final result in the Senate is that Senate Republicans lost 4 Senate seats, bringing their majority down from 22 seats to 18 seats for the 2025-2026 legislative session.  Democrats will have 14 seats in the Senate. 

The following incumbent senators lost their bid for re-election: 

Senate District 8 – Northern Milwaukee Suburbs

• Jodi Habush Sinykin (D):  50.8%
• Sen. Duey Stroebel (R):  49.3%

Senate District 8 – Southcentral Wisconsin North of Madison (and a portion of Madison)

• Sarah Keyeski (D):  51.1%
• Sen. Joan Ballweg (R):  48.9%

In early November, Republicans and Democrats started to vote internally on their respective leadership teams.  The following are the newly selected leaders, as of November 14:

Senate Republicans

• Senate Majority Leader – Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg)
• Senate President – Mary Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk)
• • She is new in this role. 
• Senate Assistant Majority Leader – Dan Feyen (R-Fond du Lac)
• Senate President Pro Tempore – Patrick Testin (R-Stevens Point)
• Senate Republican Caucus Char – Van Wanggaard (R-Racine)
• Senate Republican Caucus Vice-Chair Rachel Cabral-Guevara (R-Appleton)
• • She is new to this role. 

Senate Democrats

• Senate Minority Leader – Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton)
• Senate Assistant Minority Leader – Jeff Smith (D-Eau Claire)
• Senate Minority Caucus Chair – Mark Spreitzer (D-Beloit)
• • He is new in this role. 
• Senate Minority Vice Caucus Chair – Dora Drake (D-Milwaukee)
• • She is new in this role. 

Assembly Republicans

• Assembly Speaker – Robin Vos (R-Rochester)
• Assembly Majority Leader – Tyler August (R-Walworth)
• Assembly Assistant Majority Leader – Scott Krug (R-Nekoosa)
• • He is new in this role. 
• Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore – Kevin Peterson (R-Waupaca)
• Assembly Majority Caucus Chair – Rob Summerfield (R-Bloomer)
• Assembly Majority Caucus Vice Chair – Cindi Duchow (R-Delafield)
• Assembly Majority Caucus Secretary – Nancy VanderMeer (R-Tomah)
• Assembly Majority Caucus Sergeant at Arms – Treig Pronschinske (R-Mondovi)

Assembly Democrats

·        Assembly Minority Leader – Rep. Greta Neubauer (D-Racine)

·        Assembly Assistant Minority Leader – Rep. Kaylan Haywood (D-Milwaukee)

·        Assembly Minority Caucus Chair – Lisa Subek (D-Madison)

·        Assembly Minority Caucus Vice-Chair – Rep. Clinton Anderson (D-Beloit)

·        Assembly Minority Caucus Secretary – Rep. Mike Bare (D-Verona)

·        Assembly Minority Caucus Sergeant at Arms – Rep. Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire)

In October, the state Department of Health Services announced an updated coverage policy for continuous glucose monitors for Medicaid members with diabetes.  Starting on October 1, 2024, health care clinicians are no longer required to obtain prior authorization to prescribe CGMs to Medicaid members who have diabetes, when certain requirements are met.

For more information, please view the Forward Health October 2024 update on the DHS website.

Earlier this year, WiAHC decided that two state legislators were selected as Champions of Home Health Care for the 2023-2024 legislative session:  Senator Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) and Representative Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam).  WiHPCA is honoring these legislators for their exceptional work to promote the expanded utilization of skilled home health care as an effective, affordable option for post-acute medical care. 

As co-chairs of the Legislature’s budget-writing Joint Committee on Finance, Sen. Marklein and Rep. Born led the approval of the Fiscal Year 2023-2025 state budget that included a continuation of the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) five percent increase from April 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025.  This continuation of funds has directly benefited home health agencies statewide.   

On October 16, WiAHC lobbyists Tim Hoven and Nathan Butzlaff presented a Champion of Home Health Care award to Senator Marklein in his Madison office.  WiAHC will present this award to Representative Born later in October. 

On October 2, 2024, Marquette Law School released a new statewide election poll, which was conducted between September 18-26.  The following poll findings may be of interest.

Presidential Race

The following are the results for polling of registered Wisconsin voters: 

• Kamala Harris (D):  52%
• Donald Trump (R):  48%

When factoring in various Presidential candidates from other political parties, the results are as follows for registered Wisconsin voters:

• Kamala Harris (Democrat):  48%
• Donald Trump (Republican):  44%
• Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (Independent):  3%  [Note: Kennedy has suspended his campaign but will remain on the ballot, according to a ruling by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.]
• Chase Oliver (Libertarian Party):  1%
• Jill Stein (Green Party):  1%
• Randall Terry (Constitution Party): Less than 1% 
• Claudia De la Cruz (Party for Socialism and Liberation):  0%
• Cornel West (Independent): 0%

U.S. Senate Race

The following are the results for registered Wisconsin voters: 

• Tammy Baldwin (D):  53%
• Eric Hovde (R):  46%

Governor Tony Evers’ Job Performance

This poll asked registered voters if they approve or disapprove of the way that Democrat Tony Evers is handling his job as Governor.  This poll found the following:

• Approve:  48%
• Disapprove:  46%
• Don’t know:  5%

Direction of the State and Economic Conditions

Direction of the State

This poll asked registered voters whether things in Wisconsin are generally going in the right direction, or if things have gotten off on the wrong track.  This poll found the following:

• Right Direction:  44%
• Wrong Track:  56%

Views of the National Economy

This poll asked registered voters how they would describe the national economy.  This poll found the following: 

• Excellent:  5%
• Good:  32%
• Not so good: 30%
• Poor:  33%

Polling on Various Issues – By Political Party

Republican Voters

This poll also asked Wisconsin registered voters which issue (out of the following eight issues) is the most important.  This poll found that the following issues are the most important to Republican voters:

• Economy:  53%
• Immigration and border security:  31%
• Medicare & Social Security:  5%
• Abortion policy:  3%
• Ensuring fair and accurate elections:  3%
• Foreign relations:  2%
• Health care:  1%
• The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza:  1%
• Don’t know:  1%

Democratic Voters

This poll also asked Wisconsin registered voters which issue (out of the following eight issues) is the most important.  This poll found that the following issues are the most important to Democratic voters:

• Abortion policy:  31%
• Economy:  19%
• Medicare & Social Security:  13%
• Health care:  13%
• Ensuring fair and accurate elections:  11%
• Foreign relations:  5%
• The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza:  2%
• Immigration and border security:  1%
• Don’t know:  5%

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) is seeking feedback on the 2025-2027 Wisconsin Medicaid Managed Care Quality Strategy until October 25, 2024.  What exactly is this?  DHS provides the following explanation:

“The Wisconsin Medicaid Managed Care Quality Strategy (Quality Strategy) will help DHS understand how well certain health plans are working for Medicaid members and how to make them better. The department developed this draft strategy using feedback from groups it works with, the latest data, and information from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

The Quality Strategy includes these managed care programs:

• BadgerCare Plus and Medicaid Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
• Family Care and Family Care Partnership
• Care4Kids”

More information, including a link to the strategy document and methods to share feedback may be found on the DHS website.

Recently, Wisconsin DHS announced that the UpliftWI phone line is now available to receive calls daily – including holidays – from 10:00AM to 10:00PM.  It was previously available daily – including holidays – from 12:00PM to 12:00AM.

If you are not familiar with the UpliftWI phone line, DHS describes it as “…a nonemergency source of support for people experiencing increased stress or symptoms from mental health and substance use concerns.” 

This phone line does not charge a fee to callers and is a confidential service.  The UpliftWI line may be reached at 534-202-5438.  For more information on this service, please visit Mental Health America of Wisconsin’s UpliftWI website.