WiHPCA News

Recently, Wisconsin DHS announced that the UpliftWI phone line is now available to receive calls daily – including holidays – from 10:00AM to 10:00PM.  It was previously available daily – including holidays – from 12:00PM to 12:00AM.

If you are not familiar with the UpliftWI phone line, DHS describes it as “…a nonemergency source of support for people experiencing increased stress or symptoms from mental health and substance use concerns.” 

This phone line does not charge a fee to callers and operates as a confidential service.  The UpliftWI line may be reached at 534-202-5438.  For more information on this service, please visit Mental Health America of Wisconsin’s UpliftWI website. 

WiHPCA is happy to remind members about and provide links to the latest legislative and regulatory articles and information on the hospice industry from Hospice News and other publications:

·       The Hospice CARE Act’s Potential to ‘Dramatically Reshape’ End-of-Life Care Delivery

Hospice News – By Holly Vossel| Oct. 15, 2024

Hospice providers and stakeholders are carefully examining the proposed changes included in the recently introduced Hospice Care Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement (Hospice CARE) Act as the bill begins its journey through the legislative process. Leading concerns in the industry include the bill’s suggested regulatory reforms to address program integrity in the hospice industry, along with potential changes to reimbursement, caregiver support and palliative care payment pathways. Read more...

·       Hospice Fraud Casts Lengthening Shadow Over Future of Industry

Hospice News – By Holly Vossel| Oct. 11, 2024

Fraudulent operators in the hospice space have misspent millions of Medicare dollars in recent years. This problem has become so severe that it has become one of the defining issues facing the hospice industry, with providers and other industry stakeholders expressing concern about significant impacts to future payment, access, sustainability and utilization. This is the first of a two-part Hospice News series that examines the financial and operational pressures weighing on the minds of hospice providers amid instances of fraud, waste and abuse occurring in the industry. Read more...

·       2 Charged in $54 Million Hospice, Health Care Fraud Case

Hospice News – By Jim Parker| Oct. 10, 2024

Two individuals in California have been arrested for their roles in a $54 million scheme to defraud Medicare for hospice and diagnostic testing. One of the alleged perpetrators, Sophia Shaklian, has been charged with 16 counts of health care fraud and four for transactional money laundering. A second, Alex Alexsanian, is charged with one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and three counts of concealment money laundering. Read more...

·       Court Rules False Claims Act Provisions Unconstitutional, with Implications for Hospice Cases

Hospice News – By Jim Parker| Oct. 7, 2024

A federal judge has struck down the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, with broad implications for hospice and other health care enforcement actions. The ruling centers on the law’s qui tam clauses, which the court found unconstitutional. In a qui tam action, a whistleblower, called a “relator” by the courts, files a False Claims Act suit on behalf of the government and possibly receives a portion of any funds recovered by the government via the lawsuit, typically ranging from 15% to 25%. Read more...

Hospice News, which is part of the Aging Media Network, is a leading source for news and information covering the hospice industry.

Earlier this year, WiHPCA announced that three state legislators were selected as “Champions of Hospice and Palliative Care” for the 2023-2024 legislative session:  Rep. Patrick Snyder (R-Wausau Area), Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison), and Sen. Jesse James (R-Eau Claire Area).  WiHPCA is honoring these legislators for their exceptional work to address the priorities of hospice and palliative care agencies and staff throughout the state. 

In August, WiHPCA had the opportunity to personally present the “Champions of Hospice and Palliative Care” awards to Rep. Snyder and Sen. Roys. WiHPCA anticipates that this award will be presented to Sen. James in the coming weeks.

    

On September 11, 2024, Marquette Law School released a new statewide election poll, which was conducted between August 28 – September 5.  The following poll findings may be of interest.

Presidential Race

The following are the results for polling of likely Wisconsin voters: 

• Kamala Harris (D):  52%
• Donald Trump (R):  48%

U.S. Senate Race

The following are the results for likely Wisconsin voters: 

• Tammy Baldwin (D):  52%
• Eric Hovde (R):  47%

Governor Tony Evers’ Job Performance

This poll asked registered voters if they approve or disapprove of the way that Democrat Tony Evers is handling his job as Governor.  This poll found the following:

• Approve:  51%
• Disapprove:  44%
• Don’t know:  5%

Direction of the State and Economic Conditions

Direction of the State

This poll asked registered voters whether things in Wisconsin are generally going in the right direction, or if things have gotten off on the wrong track.  This poll found the following:

• Right Direction:  46%
• Wrong Track:  53%

Views of the National Economy

This poll asked registered voters how they would describe the national economy.  This poll found the following: 

• Excellent:  3%
• Good:  32%
• Not so good: 35%
• Poor:  30%

Polling on Various Issues – By Political Party

Republican Voters

This poll also asked Wisconsin registered voters which issue (out of the following eight issues) is the most important.  This poll found that the following issues are the most important to Republican voters:

• Economy:  55%
• Immigration and border security:  23%
• Abortion policy:  6%
• Ensuring fair and accurate elections:  5%
• Foreign relations:  3%
• Medicare & Social Security:  2%
• Health care:  2%
• The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza:  1%
• Don’t know:  1%

Democratic Voters

This poll also asked Wisconsin registered voters which issue (out of the following eight issues) is the most important.  This poll found that the following issues are the most important to Democratic voters:

• Abortion policy:  27%
• Economy:  26%
• Medicare & Social Security:  16%
• Ensuring fair and accurate elections:  13%
• Health care:  9%
• The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza:  3%
• Foreign relations:  2%
• Immigration and border security:  0%
• Don’t know:  4%

State Assembly

Assembly District 21 – Southeast Milwaukee County

• Rep. Jessie Rodriguez (R-Oak Creek) vs. David Marstellar (D-Milwaukee)
• This is a 53% Democratic district.

Assembly District 26 – Sheboygan Area

• Rep. Amy Binsfeld (R-Sheboygan) vs. Joe Sheehan (D-Sheboygan)
• This is a 52% Democratic district.

Assembly District 30 – Twin Cities Suburbs (River Falls, Hudson)

• Rep. Shannon Zimmerman (R-River Falls) vs. Alison Page (D-River Falls)
• This is a 51% Republican district.

Assembly District 51 – Southwestern Wisconsin

• Rep. Todd Novak (R-Dodgeville) vs. Elizabeth Grabe (D-Mount Horeb)
• This is a 54% Democratic district.

Assembly District 61 – Southwest Milwaukee County

• Rep. Bob Donovan (R-Greenfield) vs. LuAnn Bird (D-Hales Corners)
• This is a 51% Democratic district.

Assembly District 85 – Wausau Area

• Rep. Patrick Snyder (R-Schofield) vs. Yee Xiong (D-Weston)
• This is a 51% Republican district.

Assembly District 88 – Eastern Green Bay Suburbs

• Ben Franklin (R-De Pere) vs. Christy Welch (D-De Pere)
• This is a 50.5% Republican district.

Assembly District 89 – Green Bay and Western Suburbs

• Patrick Buckley (R-Green Bay) vs. Ryan Spaude (D-Green Bay)
• This is a 51% Democratic district.

Assembly District 92 – Northwest Wisconsin, including Chippewa Falls

• Rep. Clint Moses (R-Menomonie) vs. Joe Plouff (D-Menomonie)
• This is a 52% Republican district.

Assembly District 94 – La Crosse Area

• Ryan Huebsch (R-Onalaska) vs. Rep. Steve Doyle (D-Onalaska)
• This is a 50% Democratic/50% Republican District

State Senate

Senate District 8 – Northern Milwaukee Suburbs

• Sen. Duey Stroebel (R-Saukville) vs. Jodi Habush Sinykin (D-Whitefish Bay)
• This is a 51% Republican district.

Senate District 14 – Southcentral Wisconsin, mostly north of Madison

• Sen. Joan Ballweg (R-Markesan) vs. Sarah Keyeski (D-Lodi)
• This is a 52% Democratic district.

Senate District 18 – Fox Valley (Oshkosh, Appleton)

• Dr. Anthony Phillips (R-Appleton) vs. Kristin Alfheim (D-Appleton)
• This is a 54% Democratic District

Senate District 30 – Green Bay and Suburbs

• Jim Rafter (R-Allouez) vs. Jamie Wall (D-Green Bay)
• This is a 52% Democratic district.

Senate District 32 – La Crosse Area

• Stacey Klein (R-Trempealeau) vs. Sen. Brad Pfaff (D-Onalaska)
• This is a 53% Democratic District

WiHPCA is happy to remind members about and provide links to the latest legislative and regulatory articles and information on the hospice industry from Hospice News and other publications:

·       CMS Issues Guidance for Hospices on HOPE Tool Implementation

Hospice News – By Jim Parker| Sept. 17, 2024

The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released its final guidance manual for implementing the Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) tool. The tool is slated for an October 2025 implementation, according to the agency’s 2025 final hospice rule. The tool will replace the Hospice Item Set (HIS) quality reporting system. Read more...

·       CMS to Expand ‘Enhanced Oversight’ to Combat Hospice Fraud in 4 States

Hospice News – By Jim Parker| Sept. 10, 2024

The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is expanding its enhanced oversight for new hospices in fraud-ridden states, including California, Nevada, Arizona and Texas. The agency in July 2023 first announced a “provisional period of enhanced oversight” for new hospices in those states. A key component of the enhanced oversight includes a medical review of claims before a Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) will pay them. Read more...

Today, the Wisconsin Hospice and Palliative Care Association (WiHPCA) announced that State Senator Kelda Roys (D-Madison) is a “Champion of Hospice and Palliative Care” for the 2023-2024 state legislative session.  This designation highlights legislators who have shown exceptional support to address the priorities of hospice and palliative care agencies and staff throughout Wisconsin. 

Senator Roys showed strong support for Senate Bill 703, a bill to establish a state Palliative Care Council, during a Senate committee hearing earlier this year, including refuting misinformation stated by representatives of other organizations who spoke at the hearing.  This legislation would increase awareness of palliative care throughout the state and help Wisconsinites receive needed medical care for their symptoms, which would improve the quality of life for patients and their families. 

“Our organization is grateful to Senator Roys for her strong support of this legislation during a Senate committee hearing earlier this year and, as such, has designated her as a Champion of Hospice and Palliative Care,” said Lynne Sexten, Chair of the WiHPCA Board of Directors.

Wisconsin held its partisan primaries yesterday (August 13) for state legislative and congressional races for the fall general election. Despite a significant number of primaries (primaries were held in roughly half of the 99 Assembly seats and 4 of the 16 Senate seats), there were very few surprises, with the only incumbents that lost their reelection bids were those who were paired against other incumbents due to redistricting.  There was also a statewide referendum on two proposed constitutional amendments. Please find below key election result highlights:

CONGRESSIONAL RACES OF NOTE:

• In the 8th Congressional District GOP primary, Trump-endorsed Tony Wied edged out state Senator Andre Jacque and former state Senator Roger Roth in this closely watched race. Wied will face Democrat Kristin Lyerly in November for the opportunity to fill the open seat vacated earlier this year by Congressman Mike Gallagher (R). Jacque will return to the State Senate, as his seat is not up in November.
• In the 3rd Congressional District, former WEDC Board member Rebecca Cooke beat state Rep. Katrina Shankland in the Democratic primary. She will face Congressman Derrick Van Orden (R) in the November general election. The 3^rdCD is considered a swing seat, and Democrats have targeted it in their attempt to win back the House this fall.

OVERVIEW OF STATE LEGISLATIVE RACES:

• Assembly Speaker Robin Vos easily won his primary challenge, which took place after two failed recall attempts against him earlier this year.
• Freshman Republican State Rep. Nate Gustafson defeated Rep. Mike Schraa in the 55^thAssembly District.  Schraa has served in the State Assembly for 12 years.
• Republican State Rep. John Spiros won his three-way primary for the 86^thAD, which also included two-term incumbent State Representative Donna Rozar.
• Freshman Republican State Rep. Elijah Behnke defeated freshman Rep. Peter Schmidt after moving into the 5^thAD to challenge him.
• Dave Armstrong defeated Jimmy Swenson in the GOP primary for the 67th Assembly District, capturing nearly 78% of the vote.
• Republican State Senator Dan Knodl defeated State Representative Janel Brandtjen in the Republican primary for the 24^thAssembly District.  Sitting senators don’t typically run for the State Assembly. However, Knodl was redistricted into another Senator’s seat and decided to return to the State Assembly rather than run for the Senate.  He served 15 years in the State Assembly prior to serving the last year in the State Senate.
• Dan Feyen (R-Fond du Lac) easily defeated Tim Ramthun in the GOP primary for the 20th Senate District, capturing nearly 65% of the vote.
• Democrat State Representative Melissa Ratcliffe won a three-way primary for the 16^thSenate District, defeating fellow State Representatives Jimmy Anderson and Samba Baldeh.  Both Anderson and Baldeh had to forgo running for their Assembly seat to run for Senate, so neither will be returning to the State Assembly in January.

PRPOSED CONSTITITIONAL AMENDMENTS:

• Wisconsin voters rejected both constitutional amendment questions on the ballot, which aimed to give the Legislature more control over spending federal funds.

CLICK HERE to review all election results.

On August 6, WiHPCA unveiled a list of state legislators selected as “Champions of Hospice and Palliative Care” and “Friends of Hospice and Palliative Care” for the 2023-2024 state legislative session.  At the completion of each two-year legislative session, WiHPCA identifies an exclusive group of lawmakers for their exceptional work to address the priorities of hospice and palliative care agencies and staff throughout Wisconsin. 

The 2023-2024 “Champion of Hospice and Palliative Care” recipients are:

--State Rep. Patrick Snyder (R-Schofield)                              

--State Sen. Jesse James (R-Altoona)

--State Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison)

The 2023-2024 “Friend of Hospice and Palliative Care” recipients are:

--State Sen. Rachael Cabral-Guevara (R-Appleton)             

--State Rep. Jerry O’Connor (R-Fond du Lac)

--State Sen. Van Wanggaard (R-Racine)                                

--State Rep. David Armstrong (R-Rice Lake)

--State Sen. Mark Spreitzer (D-Beloit)                                   

--State Rep. Jenna Jacobson (D-Oregon)

--State Rep. Clint Moses (R-Menomonie)                               -

-State Rep. Jeffrey Mursau (R-Crivitz)

--State Rep. Lisa Subeck (D-Madison)                                    

--State Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez (D-Milwaukee)

--State Rep. Rob Brooks (R-Saukville)                                     

--State Rep. Christine Sinicki (D-Milwaukee)

--State Rep. Rick Gundrum (R-Slinger)                                   

--State Rep. David Steffen (R-Green Bay)

--State Rep. Donna Rozar (R-Marshfield)                              

--State Rep. Sue Conley (D-Janesville)

--State Rep. Barbara Dittrich (R-Oconomowoc)                  

--State Rep. Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire)

On August 15, the Governor’s Task Force on the Healthcare Workforce held its final public meeting, during which it approved the following recommendations. These recommendations will be submitted to the Governor for potential inclusion in the Fiscal Year 2025-2027 budget request that he will submit to the Legislature in early 2025.

• Education and Training

• Recruitment and Retention

• Regulatory Policy