WiHPCA News

Now that the state Assembly has overwhelmingly approved legislation creating a state palliative care council (Assembly Bill 23) and the state Senate Health Committee has unanimously approved the Senate version of this bill (Senate Bill 39), WiHPCA’s lobbyists continue to aggressively work to move this bill forward in the state Senate.

We need your volunteers’ help! Recently, you should have received a WiHPCA Action Alert email requesting that palliative care agency volunteers either email or call their respective state senators and ask them to request Senate leadership to schedule this legislation for a vote in the full Senate. If your agency’s volunteers have not already done so, please kindly remind them to contact their respective state Senator – based on the volunteer’s residence address – and make this request. If the volunteer is not sure who their state Senator is, they may go to the Legislature’s interactive map website to find out.

Please thank your volunteers for their advocacy!

There have been a number of updates related to the 2026 Wisconsin gubernatorial race since the prior edition of this newsletter.

With respect to Democratic candidates, Lieutenant Governor Sara Rodriguez, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, and former labor union official and American Family Field beer vendor Ryan Strnad were the first to announce their respective candidacies. Over the last month, state Senator Kelda Roys (Madison), state Representative Francesca Hong (Madison), former Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation CEO Missy Hughes, and former state Representative Brett Hulsey (Middleton) have all joined the 2026 gubernatorial race. On October 7, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul announced that he will not run for governor but will run for re-election in his current role. For several months, media reports had considered him as a potential gubernatorial candidate. As this is written, former Lieutenant Governor and 2022 Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mandela Barnes has indicated that he is seriously considering running for governor.

On the Republican side, Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann and U.S. Representative Tom Tiffany (Minocqua) have announced their candidacies. Over the last few weeks, former four-term Governor Tommy Thompson publicly stated his interest in running for governor in 2026. He also considered running for governor in 2022 but ultimately decided not to run that year. Also, Milwaukee-area businessman Bill Berrien announced his candidacy for governor in early July but ended his campaign on September 26.

The state Department of Health Services (DHS) is seeking providers and professionals with experience with Wisconsin’s Medicaid program to apply to join the state’s Medicaid Advisory Committee. Joining this committee will give individuals an opportunity to give advice and guidance on Medicaid policies and services. In particular, DHS is seeking the following individuals to join this committee:

• Primary care providers
• Federally qualified health center staff
• Hospital administrative staff
• Professionals who help Medicaid members navigate enrollment, care, benefits, and payments (e.g., income maintenance workers, community health workers, benefits specialists, or navigators).

For more information or to apply, please click here. Applications are due by Monday, October 27, 2025.

On October 15, Governor Tony Evers (D) announced that the State of Wisconsin ended state fiscal year 2025 – which ended on June 30 – with a balance of $4.6 billion in the state’s general fund. This amount is $265 million higher than prior estimates. Also, it is notable that the state’s budget stabilization fund – also known as the “rainy day fund” – increased to approximately $2 billion at the end of FY2025. This is the rainy day fund’s largest balance in state history.

Last night, the Senate concluded votes on both a House republican CR and a Democratic CR, with both votes failing. With no path forward, the federal government shut down at midnight last night. This means that, among other things, telehealth flexibilities that were set to expire on September 30 are no longer in effect. The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has also released a contingency plan outlining its operations during the government shutdown.  More updates will be shared as available.  Alliance members are able to view the Alliance Daily Article for more information about the impacts of a government shutdown.

Now that the state Assembly has overwhelmingly approved legislation creating a state palliative care council (Assembly Bill 23) and the state Senate Health Committee has unanimously approved the Senate version of this bill (Senate Bill 39), WiHPCA’s lobbyists continue to aggressively work to move this bill forward in the state Senate. As such, our organization’s lobbyists continue to meet with various senators, as well as their staff members in furtherance of that goal.

WiHPCA has also crafted a coalition letter supporting this legislation that is addressed to all state Senate offices. This letter will have been sent by the time you read this.

We need your help! Recently, you should have received a WiHPCA Action Alert email requesting that executives and employees of WiHPCA palliative care agencies either email or call your respective state senator and ask him/her to request Senate leadership to schedule this legislation for a vote in the full Senate. If you have not already done so, please contact your state Senator – based on your residence address – and make this request. You may view this WiHPCA Action Alert here. Not sure who your state Senator is? Go to the Legislature’s interactive map website to find out.

Thank you for your advocacy!

On September 15, Governor Tony Evers (D) signed an executive order directing state government agencies to make sure that Wisconsinites are able to easily access vaccines, particularly the COVID-19 vaccine. More specifically, the executive order directs the state Department of Health Services (DHS) to “work with the Wisconsin Pharmacy Examining Board, the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI), and any other relevant state agencies and offices to ensure vaccine access for Wisconsinites to the fullest extent of the law and available funding”. The order also requires DHS to issue a standing order to allow Wisconsinites to access the COVID-19 vaccine at pharmacies. Additionally, the executive order requires the OCI to direct health insurance companies to provide full insurance coverage – within existing regulatory authority – for this vaccine.

The governor’s full press release may be viewed here.

On September 9, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) held a press conference to announce the creation of new Speaker Task Forces to address several policy areas. During prior legislative sessions, Speaker Vos has created such task forces, which hold public hearings and meetings to examine specific policy areas with the ultimate goal of drafting related legislation. He indicated that the Assembly will likely vote on such legislation in January and February 2026.

Speaker Vos created the following Speaker Task Forces:

• Protecting Children

This task force will be chaired by Rep. Lindee Brill (R-Sheboygan Falls), who will focus on online safety for children.

• Government Efficiency and Modernization

This task force will be chaired by Rep. Jim Piwowarczyk (R-Western Waukesha County). This task force will focus on:

• Replacing outdated, redundant processes with modern tools.
• Reducing administrative overhead through automation.
• Integrating systems across agencies to avoid duplicate work.
• Using data to predict demand and allocate resources more effectively.

• Elder Services

This task force will be chaired by Rep. Patrick Snyder (R-Wausau), who will focus on helping seniors maintain their independence and social lives, while prioritizing physical and financial wellbeing.

• Rulemaking

This task force will be chaired by Rep. Brent Jacobson (R-Mosinee), an attorney, who will focus on oversight of state government’s regulatory process.

Following Labor Day, the state Legislature resumed its Fall session work period. In addition to state Assembly and Senate committees holding public hearings on various pieces of legislation, both chambers are able to hold session days. These are days during which each respective chamber votes on legislation. Both chambers are able to hold session days in both October and November, with additional possible session days in 2026.

On August 8, Governor Tony Evers (D) signed Senate Bill 43. This legislation allows an advanced practice nurse prescriber who is directly involved with the care of a patient to pronounce the date, time, and place of a patient’s death in order to prepare a death record. Previously, only a physician naturopathic doctor, coroner, deputy coroner, medical examiner, deputy medical examiner, physician assistant, or hospice nurse had this authority.

WiHPCA formally supported this legislation. Senate Bill 43, which is now 2025 Wisconsin Act 19, became effective on August 10, 2025.