On October 28, Marquette University Law School released its final poll of the 2020 campaign cycle giving Wisconsin voters a last look out potential outcomes in the presidential race.

Among likely voters polled, 48 percent support Biden and 43 percent support Trump. On October 7, 46 percent indicated they will vote for Biden and 41 percent said they will vote for Trump. In September, 47 percent favored Biden and 43 percent favored Trump.

Today’s numbers are consistent with MU Law Poll numbers since May. Biden has led Trump four to six points every month, indicating an incredibly stable race.

Of note, 8 percent of likely voter respondents would not indicate which candidate they plan to support. This brings up the question of “hidden Trump voters”, which many polls were not able to accurately capture in 2016 polling data.

MU Law pollsters attempted to analyze potential support among those 8 percent by how they responded to favorability ratings of the candidates. In analyzing that data, the poll’s modeling projects 50 percent support Biden and 45 percent Trump.

Among likely voters, the poll found 91 percent stated their minds are made up while 6 percent indicated they may change their minds. In the next six days, both Trump and Biden will make appearances in the state to encourage turnout among their bases as well as vie for that 6 percent.

The poll found that 41 percent of respondents already voted by the time they took the poll. Among those respondents, 64 percent said they voted for Biden, 25 percent voted for Trump, 2 percent for Libertarian Jo Jorgenson, and 9 percent would not say.

When it comes to respondents that had not yet voted, 56 percent indicated they will vote for Trump, 35 percent for Biden, 3 percent for Jorgenson, and 6 percent would not say. This is consistent with expectations that Democrats would outvote Republicans in early voting while Republicans would vote in higher numbers on Election Day.

On the question of favorability, 49 percent had a favorable view of Biden, while 46 percent did not. In early October, his ratings were 48 percent and 45 percent, respectively. In May, his numbers were 42 percent favorable and 46 percent unfavorable.

For Trump, 44 percent have a favorable view of Trump, while 54 percent do not. In early October, favorability was 42 percent and 53 percent, respectively. In May, his numbers were 44 percent favorable and 51 percent unfavorable.

While Biden holds leads in all recent polling and likely has a real statistical edge in Wisconsin heading into November 3, the state remains a true battleground and too close to make a confident prediction. Perhaps spoiling confidence for Democratic voters and political spectators, nearly every poll also indicated Hillary Clinton would win Wisconsin in the final week of the 2016 campaign. It remains to be seen what pollsters may have learned from that experience in revising their modeling.

Only one week left until #election2020, have you already voted or have your plan in place to do so within the next week? If not, be sure to request your absentee ballot by 10/29 OR better yet - do it right now!

There is still time to request a ballot by mail at https://myvote.wi.gov. You can mail back your ballot, drop off at a local ballot box, vote early, or vote on election day with a mask, physically distancing and washing your hands!

Find more information here: https://www.wpha.org/mpage/VoteSafeWisconsin2020

#votesafewi2020

The Electronic Visit Verification Portal Functionality User Guide was recently revised and posted to the ForwardHealth Portal on October 27, 2020. The worker electronic visit verification start date information in the Worker Association section of the user guide has been updated.

The RELI Group, along with its partners TMF Health Quality Institute and CGS, is contracted with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to develop, produce and disseminate provider-specific comparative data reports, referred to as the Program for Evaluating Payment Patterns Electronic Report, or PEPPER. PEPPER summarizes one provider’s Medicare claims data statistics and provides comparative data with the state, jurisdiction and nation.  Providers can review the PEPPER to evaluate their statistics and determine whether they should take any actions, such as reviewing records to ensure the care provided was necessary, and that documentation supports the diagnosis codes and services billed.

We would like to encourage providers to access this free comparative billing report and utilize it as a tool to support their auditing and monitoring efforts.  With that in mind, would you consider sharing the one page summary (attached), electronically via e-mail or newsletter, with your membership? 

TMF Health Quality Institute

https://cbrpepper.org/

TODAY is the beginning of early and in-person voting here in Wisconsin. Be sure to bring an ID and double check your local voting hours at https://myvote.wi.gov before you go. Find more about voting safely at https://www.wpha.org/mpage/VoteSafeWisconsin2020 @WIPublicHealth #VoteSafeWI2020

National Association for Home Care & Hospice

APPLY NOW or pass it on to a worthy candidate!

November is National Home Care Month, a special time to recognize and celebrate the practice of home care and all of the individuals who make it possible. The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) is excited to partner with CellTrak to award deserving home care aides with the opportunity to pursue their educational goals and advance their careers.

Read Full Article

TODAY is the last day to register to vote online. You can then receive your ballot by mail or vote early in the upcoming election! Voting absentee and returning by mail or drop-off is the best way to exercise your right to vote while also staying safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Register and request your absentee ballot here: https://myvote.wi.gov. 

Find more about voting safely at https://www.wpha.org/mpage/VoteSafeWisconsin2020 @WIPublicHealth #VoteSafeWI2020

The 2020 Home Care and Hospice Conference and Expo is a virtual conference taking place October 19-21. There are more than 30 education sessions, general sessions and keynotes, as well as daily roundtable discussion and more than 30 sessions available on-demand in the Learning Lab and Wellness Lobby. The conference theme is Our Health: Caring for the Caregiver, and the featured keynote speaker is Leon Logothetis of Netflix’s The Kindness Diaries. Learn more and register for the conference at 2020Annual.NAHC.org, and use the discount code NAHC2020WI to get $100 off your registration (discount can only be used for new registrations).

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services has launched a newsletter to explain electronic visit verification in a clear and conversational way. The first issue contains information about the provider and worker identification processes and getting ready for Day 1 of EVV. Further issues of Your Key to EVV will be posted to the newsletter’s library page.

The conference will be a mix of live presentations and recordings. On Tuesday, November 3, the conference kicks off with live presentations featuring:

William A. Dombi, Esq.
President
National Association for Home Care & Hospice

Silvia Munoz-Price, MD, PhD
Enterprise Epidemiologist, Professor of Medicine
Department of Medicine-Division of Infectious Diseases Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin

M. Aaron Little, CPA
Managing Director
BKD

Register today!