Legislative Agenda | Legislative Archive

WISCONSIN LONG-TERM CARE UPDATE
February 20, 2006

• Governor Travels State to Market and Provide Funding for Statewide Expansion of FamilyCare
• TABOR-II Receives “Invited Speakers Only” Public Hearing
• Legislature and Governor Reach Deal on Nursing Home Funding
• NEW LEGISALTIVE BILLS \ RECENTLY INTRODUCED
• LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE PUBLIC HEARINGS & SESSION DATES
  

Governor Travels State to Market and Provide Funding for Statewide Expansion of FamilyCare
Governor Doyle has been traveling around Wisconsin to announce the winners of the Long-Term Care Reform grants, which are being used to help begin his statewide expansion of FamilyCare.  FamilyCare is a long-term managed care program being piloted in nine Wisconsin counties.  FamilyCare combines all long-term care funding, including Medicaid, and provides funding for assisted living, home and community-based care, adult day care programs etc.  The program has been and continues to be touted by DHFS as being cost neutral.  Governor Doyle announced during his state-of-the-state address his plan for statewide expansion of FamilyCare will give more seniors the opportunity to receive long term care in their homes, rather than in nursing homes, and reaffirms the state’s commitment to reducing the nursing home population by 25 percent (6,000 nursing home residents) over the next 8 years.  Governor Doyle has already announced long-term care reform partnership grants to Kenosha and Eau Claire, and later this week will make further announcements in La Crosse, Madison and Wausau.

Constitutional Amendment Restricting Spending Receives “Invited Speakers Only” Public Hearing
The Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR-II), which has been renamed the “Taxpayer Protection Amendment (TPA), is a Constitutional Amendment to cap state and local revenues (spending authority) through a formula based on a 3-year average of inflation plus state population.  The proposal is similar to the TABOR Constitutional Amendment that Colorado passed in the early 1990’s.  A public hearing was held last Wednesday, February 15th on the proposal.  However the hearing was not open to general public testimony, but rather only to invited speakers, which did not include healthcare providers.

The TABOR-II\TPA Constitutional Amendment is raising the same concerns from healthcare organizations it did two years ago.  Wisconsin’s Medicaid programs currently do not provide adequate reimbursement to providers for healthcare services (hospitals, clinics, physicians, nursing homes, assisted living, home and community-based care, etc.).  To offset these losses, healthcare providers are often forced to pass these losses onto private pay healthcare clients, which is one of the reasons healthcare costs continue to rise at alarming rates.  The fear is that if Constitutional caps are placed on revenue and spending, the already inadequate reimbursement rates will grow worse.  In the case of primary\hospital care, these costs will likely be shifted to private pay\insurance based payors – which means healthcare cost increases will only get worse.  Last session, this shifting of costs in healthcare was called the “Hidden Tax”.  Please contact your state senator and assembly representative and request that they oppose amending the Constitution with TABOR-II \ TPA.  To contact your legislators, go to: Who Are My Legislators?

Wisconsin Legislature and Governor Reach Deal on Nursing Home Funding
On Tuesday, February 14, 2006, the Republican Legislative Leadership, the two co-chairs of the Joint Finance Committee and the Governor came to an agreement providing Wisconsin nursing homes rate increases.  The agreement basically amended the Wisconsin Medicaid Deficit Reconciliation bills SB-535\AB-981, authored by Rep. Dean Kaufert (R-Neenah) and Sen. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) – with the Senator Brown\Rep. Pettis Nursing Home Funding Bills SB-532\AB-972.  Governor Doyle agreed that if the nursing home rate increases were included he would not veto the provisions.  The agreement was voted out of the Joint Finance Committee unanimously (16-0) and will be voted upon by both the Senate and Assembly this week.  Nursing homes will receive $26.8 million in new funding this biennium: 1.4% rate increase ($3 million: $1.2 million GPR\$1.8 million Fed) in the last quarter of FY2005-06 (April - June).  And then a 2.8% rate increase ($23.8 million: $10.1 million GPR\13.7 million FED) for fiscal year 2006-07.  State fiscal years begin on July 1st and end on June 30th.

NEW LEGISALTIVE BILLS \ RECENTLY INTRODUCED

Senate Bill Introductions
SJR-63. TABOR-II (Grothman) Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR-II) or “Taxpayers Protection Act.” To Taxpayer Protection Amendment Committee.

SB-550. Professional Health Care Liability Coverage (Darling) Return of funds in excess of surplus and incurred liabilities. To Agriculture and Insurance.
SB-565. MA (Roessler) Waiver of certain divestment requirements under Medical Assistance. To Health, Children, Families, Aging and Long Term Care.
SB-567. Public Assistance (Reynolds) Limits eligibility for public assistance programs to US citizens and qualifying aliens, requires documentary proof of citizenship or satisfactory immigration status. To Labor and Election Process Reform.
SB-568. Supervised Release (Reynolds) Changes affecting county of placement for persons on supervised release; creates a tax on adult entertainment businesses; provides grants for transitional release facilities. To Labor and Election Process Reform.
SB-570. Property Tax Exemptions (Kapanke) Property tax exemption for property owned by certain benevolent or educational associations; use of income from certain tax-exempt property. To Job Creation, Economic Development and Consumer Affairs.
SB-578. Health Care Records (Kanavas) Confidentiality of health care review records and immunity. To Health, Children, Families, Aging and Long Term Care.
SB-579. Caregiver Background Checks (Grothman) Changes affecting caregiver background checks. To Health, Children, Families, Aging and Long Term Care.
SB-582. Medical Assistance (Decker) Decreases MA reimbursement; transfers moneys from the general fund to the MA trust fund, increases low-income energy assistance. To Health, Children, Families, Aging and Long Term Care.

Assembly Bill Introductions
AJR-77. TABOR-II (Wood) Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR-II) “Taxpayers Protection Act.” To Ways and Means.

AB-987. Caregivers (Moulton) Caregiver background information. To Health.
AB-993. Health Care Records (Underheim) Confidentiality of health care review records and immunity. To Health.
AB-1013. Prescription Drugs (Montgomery) Regulates wholesale distribution of prescription drugs. To Health.
AB-1021. Health Care Providers (Gielow) Inadmissibility of a statement of apology or condolence by a health care provider. To Judiciary.
AB-1027. Mental Illness (Wieckert) Mistreatment of a child with a mental illness or a development disability. To Criminal Justice and Homeland Security.

LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE PUBLIC HEARINGS & SESSION DATES

Assembly Committee on Education
Tuesday, February 21, 2006   9:30 AM   State Capitol, Room 300-NE.
AB-933. Suspension of motor vehicle operating privilege for habitual truancy.
AB-945. Special education programs for children with disabilities.

Assembly Committee on Public Health
Wednesday, February 22, 2006   8:45 AM   State Capitol, Room 415-NW.
LRB 3615. Updates to public health statutes.
SB-405. Powers of the Pharmacy Examining Board during times of emergency or disaster.
AB-976. A loan program for medical students who agree to practice medicine in rural areas.
An executive session may be held on any of the above items.

Senate Committee Health, Children, Families, Aging and Long Term Care
Wednesday, February 22, 2006   10:00 AM   State Capitol, Room 411-S.
AB-792. Home care workers.
SB-544. Expands types of volunteer health care providers to include pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.
AB-722. Licensure of pharmacies located outside the state.
SB-565. Waiver of certain divestment requirements under Medical Assistance.
SB-579. Caregiver background information.
LRB-3345. Podiatric medicine.
LRB-4277/3. Changes definition of hospital for purposes of approval by DHFS and MA reimbursement.
LRB-4551. Wholesale distribution of prescription drugs.
An executive session may be held on any of the other items before the committee and on:
SB-394. Electromyography.

SB-547. Requiring the Department of Health and Family Services to treat 4 counties as one labor region for purposes of Medical Assistance nursing home reimbursement.

Assembly Committee on Medicaid Reform

Wednesday, February 22, 2006  10:00 AM   State Capitol, Room 417-North
  Informational and Discussion Session

Presentation by: Christine Raniszewski Herrera, Director Health and Human Services Task Force, American Legislative Exchange Council. Testimony will be limited to invited speaker only.

Discussion Session following the presentation.

Assembly Committee on Housing
Wednesday, February 22, 2006   1:00 PM   State Capitol, Room 400-NE
LRB-2307. Contractor’s notice, claims against certain contractors and supplies of dwellings.
AB-1030. Creates a window replacement loan program and fund.
An executive session may be held.

Assembly Health Committee
Tuesday, February 28, 2006   10:00 AM   State Capitol, Room 417-North
Executive Session:
AB-993. Health Care Records (Underheim) Confidentiality of health care review records and immunity. To Health.
AB-1013. Prescription Drugs (Montgomery) Regulates wholesale distribution of prescription drugs. To Health.