For the last several years, WiAHC has been advocating to eliminate an outdated state regulation relating to professional advisory bodies for home health care agencies. WiAHC has been advocating for this change since professional advisory committees were removed from federal regulations in 2017, as home health agencies are already overseen by a governing body pursuant to federal regulations.  In addition, home health agencies are also overseen by governing bodies in Wisconsin regulations.  In 2017, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) also put in place federal regulations requiring home health agencies to implement ongoing quality assessment and performance improvement (QAPI) programs.  Essentially, CMS replaced professional advisory committees in federal regulations with the creation of the QAPI program.

In January 2023, WiAHC formally requested that DHS eliminate professional advisory bodies for home health care agencies in the agency’s biennial rules review – a process by which DHS makes technical changes and updates to existing state regulations. Our organization’s rationale is that this would bring Wisconsin’s regulations in line with federal regulations for the reasons addressed above.

Subsequently, the draft DHS biennial rules review document includes the elimination of professional advisory bodies for home health agencies. On July 7, the agency formally requested public comments on the economic impact of the draft biennial rules review. In anticipation of this announcement, WiAHC had requested appropriate feedback from home health agency member employees. (Thank you to those who provided feedback!)  WiAHC incorporated this feedback into our formal comment letter, which has been submitted to DHS. Further updates will be included in future editions of this newsletter.

On July 15, DHS released their analysis showing how the recently enacted federal budget reconciliation bill will likely impact Wisconsinites who benefit from Medicaid (e.g., BadgerCare Plus) programs. Overall, DHS agrees with the estimate provided by the Congressional Joint Economic Committee that 276,175 individuals in our state will lose health care insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid over the next 10 years. More specifically, 63,000 Wisconsin adults without dependent children are estimated to be at high risk of losing Medicaid coverage due to the work requirements included in this new federal law.

For more details, please view the detailed analysis on the DHS website.

On June 25, 2025, Marquette University Law School Poll released its most recent poll, which surveyed 873 registered Wisconsin voters between June 13-19, 2025. This poll is the first Wisconsin state-specific Marquette poll since the spring election. This new poll covers political approval ratings, budget issues, and education policy. The following poll findings may be of interest:

Elected Officials

President Trump Job Approval

• 47% approve of the job President Trump (R) is doing.
• 52% disapprove.
• 1% don’t know.

Governor Tony Evers Job Approval

• 48% approve of the job Governor Tony Evers (D) is doing.
• 46% disapprove.
• 5% don’t know.

Wisconsin Legislature Job Approval

• 41% approve of the state legislature’s job performance.
• 50% disapprove.
• 10% don’t know.

Wisconsin Supreme Court Job Approval

• 49% approve of the state supreme court’s job performance.
• 38% disapprove.
• 13% don’t know.

U.S. Senator Ron Johnson Favorability

• 40% have a favorable opinion of U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R)
• 44% have an unfavorable opinion of him.

U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Favorability

• 44% have a favorable opinion of U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D)
• 47% have an unfavorable opinion of her.

Wisconsin State Budget

State Tax Cut

When informed that state government has a roughly $4 billion surplus, registered voters are asked how much of that should go towards a tax cut.

• 27% feel that the entire surplus should be used for a tax cut.
• 9% feel that 75% of the surplus should be used for a tax cut.
• 29% feel that half of it should be used for a tax cut.
• 19% think that approximately 25% of it should be used for a tax cut.
• 16% feel that none of the surplus should be used for a tax cut.
• 1% don’t have a position.

State and Local Policy

Extending Medicaid Coverage to New Mothers One Year After Giving Birth

• 66% support this.
• 33% oppose this.

Childhood Vaccine Benefits and Risks

When asked whether the benefits or the risks are greater for children receiving the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, the survey found:

• 84% feel that the benefits outweigh the risks.
• 15% feel that the risks outweigh the benefits.

State Education

Satisfaction with Public Schools

• 63% are very satisfied or satisfied.
• 36% are very dissatisfied or dissatisfied.
• 1% don’t know or have mixed views.

Property Taxes vs. K-12 Funding

When asked whether reducing property taxes or increasing spending on K-12 spending on public schools is more important, the survey found the following:

• 57% prefer reducing property taxes.
• 43% prefer increasing spending on public schools.

On June 30, the state Department of Health Services (DHS) released a report addressing Wisconsinites who receive both Medicaid and Medicare benefits – otherwise known as “dual eligibles.” This nine-page report includes various findings and recommendations. The full report may be viewed on the DHS website.

Each July, the state Department of Health Services (DHS) is required by state law to adjust the maximum amounts that health care clinicians may charge patients for their medical records. This adjustment takes into account inflationary changes over the prior calendar year. This updated fee schedule may be viewed on the state legislature’s website.

In support of an effort to increase the Medicaid reimbursement rate for home health agency-based nurses from $96.96 per visit to $117.86 per visit, WiAHC sent out an action alert to all WiAHC members on May 29 and again on June 16 requesting that they contact their respective state representatives and state senators to ask them to support this budget request. Such a rate increase would bring Wisconsin in line with other Midwest states.

In a positive development, WiAHC’s lobbyists have previously secured the support of both Senator Rachael Cabral-Guevara (R-Appleton), a nurse practitioner, and Representative Clint Moses (R-Menomonie), a chiropractor, to formally submit this request to the Joint Committee on Finance for consideration to be possibly included in the FY2025-2027 Department of Health Services budget. 

The Legislature’s budget-writing Joint Committee on Finance has been holding meetings in May and June to approve state Fiscal Year 2025-2027 budgets for various state government agencies. Once the committee has done its work, their work will be consolidated into FY2025-2027 budget legislation, which the full Assembly and Senate will vote on. As the current fiscal year ends on June 30, the Legislature generally attempts to send a budget bill to the Governor for his consideration by the end of June. However, if there are delays with the legislative process or the Governor vetoes the budget legislation in full, state government will continue to operate on existing funding levels until the Governor signs a FY2025-2027 budget bill into law.

In late April, the Department of Health Services (DHS) issued a press release that analyzed the impact of potential federal Medicaid budget cuts on Wisconsin. This analysis is based on federal budget reconciliation legislation that the U.S. House of Representatives approved on May 22.  The following elements of this legislation, which has not yet been approved by the U.S. Senate (as this is written), will likely be of interest to WiAHC:

·        Per-Person Funding Limit– Currently, the federal government provides funding to states based on a percentage of Medicaid costs. This legislation proposes to instead provide a set amount of funding per Medicaid beneficiary. This could cost the State of Wisconsin up to $16.8 billion in federal funds over a decade.

·        Administrative Costs – This funding pays for information technology and for staff to review Medicaid claims and pay health care providers, among other things. This could cost the State of Wisconsin up to $93 million each year.

·        Work Requirement – Such a requirement would likely require able-bodied adults without children to provide proof that they are working in order to receive Medicaid benefits. DHS estimates that the agency would incur up to $6 million in administrative costs to comply with such a requirement. Any employment and training requirements that DHS may need to provide to help Medicaid beneficiaries meet these requirements could cost $60 million annually. 

On June 4, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services issued a press release noting that the agency maintains their recommendation that pregnant women and everyone 6 months or older should obtain the COVID-19 vaccine in order to prevent serious illness and to stop the spread of COVID-19. The press release also referenced that this vaccine has previously gone through rigorous review processes on the federal level and that the recent change in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance on this vaccine was “not made based on new data, evidence, or scientific or medical studies.” 

Further, this release notes that the Medicaid program in Wisconsin will continue to cover the existing COVID-19 vaccine for eligible Medicaid program participants.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) has announced that they will hold the state’s only substance use prevention conference on September 10-11, 2025, at the Chula Vista Resort in Wisconsin Dells. There will also be a virtual option for those who are not able to attend in-person.  According to the DHS website, the objectives of this event are to:

• Enhance knowledge of substance use prevention initiatives and resources across Wisconsin
• Strengthen collaboration and networking among substance use prevention professionals
• Develop practical substance use prevention strategies

For more information and to register, please visit the DHS website. Please note that the registration deadline is August 15.