By Hoven Consulting  – WiHPCA’s lobbying firm

• All Health Plans to Cover Cost of At-Home COVID-19 Tests
  On January 13, Governor Evers and Insurance Commissioner Nathan Houdek announced that all health insurance plans will be required to cover the cost of at-home rapid, diagnostic COVID-19 tests, starting on January 15, 2022.  This is required by the federal government.  These tests may be free or reimbursable to patients, depending upon arrangements health plans and insurance companies make with retailers/pharmacies.  Health plans and insurance companies will be required to cover up to eight such diagnostic tests per person, per month. 

• State Improves Prescription Drug Monitoring Program
  In December, the state Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) announced that the U.S. Department of Justice awarded $1,648,000 to the Wisconsin Enhanced Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (ePDMP).  These dollars will be used to help connect the ePDMP with existing electronic medical records systems in Wisconsin. DSPS intends to focus these efforts on medical providers in rural and underserved regions in our state. 
  
  
• Medicaid Program Surplus Projected
  On December 30, 2021, the Department of Health Services informed the legislature that it projects that the state will have a $184.9 million surplus in the Medicaid program by the end of the 2021-2023 state budget.  The state budget expires at the end of state fiscal year 2023, which ends on June 30, 2023.  This increase is largely due to the extension of the federal COVID-19 public health emergency and the additional 6.2 percent Medicaid match rate, which is provided by the federal government while the emergency declaration is in place. 
• Politicians on the Move
• • On January 10, State Representative Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh) stepped down as Assembly Minority Leader.  He was first elected to the Assembly in 2006 and was elected as Assembly Minority Leader in 2017.  On January 10, State Representative Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) assumed the role of Assembly Minority Leader.  Rep. Kalan Haywood (D-Milwaukee) was elected to serve as the next Assistant Minority Leader and will take over from State Rep. Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton), who will run for the seat of State Senator Jon Erpenbach (D-West Point), who is retiring this year.   
  • State Representative Beth Meyers (D-Bayfield) recently announced that she will not run for re-election in 2022.  She was first elected in 2014.  She is a member of the Assembly Democratic leadership team as the Minority Caucus Secretary and is also a member of the Aging and Long-Term Care Committee.  On January 10, new Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer appointed Rep. Meyers to a seat on the Joint Finance Committee for the rest of the 2021-2022 legislative session.   
  • State Representative Jim Steineke(R-Kaukauna), the current Assembly Majority Leader, recently announced he will not seek re-election in 2022. Steinke was first elected in 2010, and quickly rose through the ranks of the Assembly GOP leadership. He has served as Majority Leader since 2015.
  • State Senator Kathy Bernier (R-Chippewa Falls) announced on January 7 that she will not run for re-election this year.  She was elected to the Senate in 2018 and previously served in the Assembly from 2011-2018.  She currently chairs the Senate Committee on Elections, Election Process Reform and Ethics and serves on the Joint Finance Committee.