Thank you for taking the time to read this week's e-update. I always strive to include information you find interesting and informative as it relates to my work in Madison and the 60th Assembly District.
My most important goal remains serving you, my constituents. Helping you find solutions to difficult problems when it seems like the state is unresponsive is the single greatest reward for my staff and me. I take constituents' input seriously and continually work hard on your behalf.
I always have your thoughts and concerns in mind when deciding whether or not to support legislation. Furthermore, I appreciate when you take time out of your schedules to contact me.
Have a great week,
This week's survey
This week, the Assembly Committee on Medicaid Reform and Oversight held a public hearing on Assembly Bill 81, relating to dental therapy, which will be discussed in a later section.
As a member of the committee, I am particularly interested in hearing your thoughts on this bill, as it moves through the process.
Please, take a minute to answer this week's survey question regarding licensure of dental therapists
Thank you to everyone who answered last week's survey question relating to a registration fee for horse-drawn carriages. In total, 130 individuals answered, with 51 opposing a registration fee and forty-one percent believing they were necessary.
8 percent of respondents selected "other." Responses include:
"I do not think anyone should have to pay annual registration fees. We are taxed enough and should be able to find other areas where we can cut spending and still pay for road maintenance."
"I find it hard to believe these horse-drawn vehicles are actually causing much wear to the roadways."
"Horse-drawn transportation is minimal in comparison to trucks with weights over 50,000 pounds, who cause significantly more damage and should be charged accordingly by weight and mileage per year instead of the extremely small fee they are charged by our state DMV."
"In addition to paying a fee, do these people have any kind of insurance? If they become involved in a crash, who would represent them in court if they get sued?"
Committees
This week, from a committee standpoint, was very busy. I testified before the Assembly Committee on Mental Health and participated in public hearings in both the Committee on Medicaid Reform and Oversight and the Ways and Means Committee.
Assembly Committee on Mental Health
This week, I testified before the Assembly Committee on Mental Health on Assembly Bill 654, a bipartisan bill I coauthored with Senator Alberta Darling.
Currently, the Division of Community Corrections uses telehealth to provide mental health treatment to offenders under community supervision within Region 5 (see map below for a breakdown of each region).
Assembly Bill 654 directs the Wisconsin Department of Corrections to expand telehealth for mental health treatment in Regions 4,6, and 8. Based on conversations with DOC, these regions were found to be the most in need of expanded telehealth services. This bill does not use general purpose revenue (GPR) to fund telehealth expansion. Rather, the responsibility is placed on DOC to cover the cost with internal resources.
Assembly Committee on Medicaid Oversight and Reform
This week, the Assembly Committee on Medicaid Oversight and Reform met to discuss two dental-related bills. I am very interested in obtaining your feedback on both of these proposals.
The first, Assembly Bill 81, which has bipartisan support, relates to the licensure of dental therapists. Your feedback and input will help me decide whether or not to support this issue. We all know that access to dental care is crucial, as lack of care often leads to more serious health issues and visits to the emergency room.
Assembly Bill 81 allows dental therapists to provide care and services to patients. Much like physician assistants, dental therapists help dental practices reduce the access gap. The most common dental needs are oral exams and fillings. This is especially true for the Medicaid population who does not have access to crucial preventive care. While current law only allows dentists to perform these procedures, a dental therapist would be a new member of the dental team with extensive training to perform these procedures, under the supervision of a dentist.
Assembly Bill 680
Additionally, the Committee on Medicaid Reform and Oversight held a public hearing on Assembly Bill 680, relating to the expansion of the dental reimbursement pilot project under the Medical Assistance Program.
This bill, which has bipartisan support, expands statewide the dental reimbursement pilot project that, under current law, requires the Department of Health Services to distribute money to Medical Assistance reimbursement rates for pediatric dental care and adult emergency dental services provided in Brown, Marathon, Polk, and Racine Counties.
Less than 1 percent of the state's Medicaid budget is spent on dental services
Wisconsin ranks 45th in the country on Medicaid rates
The last time dental services received an across-the-board increase was 2008, 1 percent. The time prior to that came in 2002, when dental also received a 1 percent increase. In nearly 18 years, the State of Wisconsin has provided a total increase of 2 percent for providers seeing the most medically complex patient base
A recent report by the UW Population Health Institute, which studied data from the first year of the four-county Medicaid pilot (October 2016-September 2017), showed encouraging and substantive results. This includes:
A 4 percent increase in the number of children accessing dental care in the pilot counties, equalling nearly 6,000 more children
A 5 percent increase for adults
An increase of 33 in the number of dentists signed up to see Medicaid patients in the pilot counties, nearly 70 in one year.
Of those new dentists, 35 percent saw 100 or more patients.
Assembly Committee on Ways and Means
Assembly Bill 383 establishes a narrow Temporary Storage Rule. This rule would provide sales and use tax exemptions for construction contractors that do work in tax-free areas in other states.
Unfortunately, due to Wisconsin's current tax structure, materials stored temporarily are assessed Wisconsin sales and use tax. This taxation puts Wisconsin companies at no less than a 5 percent disadvantage when bidding for projects in tax-free areas in other states compared to companies located in the same state as the project.
Assembly Bill 383 will allow construction companies to receive a Wisconsin sales and use tax exemption for tangible personal property that is first shipped to Wisconsin, stored for less than 120 days, and then used in the fulfillment of real property construction in another state at a non-profit organization, public school district, or business district where business tax incentives have been granted, such as Enterprise Zones.
Assembly Bill 430, a bipartisan proposal authored by Representatives Don Vruwink (D-Milton) and James Edming (R-Glen Flora), would include crop insurance proceeds in a person's production gross receipts for purposes of the manufacturing and agriculture tax credits.
This bill addresses an unintended consequence of the manner for calculating the MAC as it relates to crop insurance, the federal program designed to offset losses to damaged and/or unplanted crops.
Crop insurance proceeds are counted as taxable income. This means farmers who recouped part of their loss through a crop insurance payment might have to pay taxes on that reduced profit. Whereas, farmers who plant, harvest and sell their crops would be able to include proceeds for purposes of claiming the MAC.
State of Wisconsin Blue Books
My office still has copies of the 2019-2020 State of Wisconsin Blue Book available. If you are interested in obtaining a copy, please click the following link. My staff and I will make it a priority to ensure that your copy arrives in a timely fashion.
60th District Events
The following are events that will be held this week, in the 60th Assembly District. If you have any upcoming events that you would like included, please contact my office.
One of the best ways to date with what is happening in Madison is to sign up for the legislature's notification tracking system. This service affords you with the opportunity to track legislative activities in Madison. Upon creation of a free account, you can sign up to receive notification about specific bills of committees as well as legislative activity pertaining to a subject (i.e., health care, education, etc.).
If you have any comments regarding the subject of this E-Update, please feel free to contact me.
Rep. Rob Brooks State Capitol, Room 216 North P.O. Box 8952 Madison, WI 53708 Toll-Free (888) 534-0060 or (608) 267-2369 Rep.Rob.Brooks@legis.wi.gov| |
