Legislators honored by Association for Home Health Care
Last month, the Wisconsin Association for Home Health Care (WiAHC) announced its 2019-2020 “Friend of Home Health Care” recipients. The designation is meant to publicly identify Wisconsin State Legislators that supported the expanded utilization of home health care as an effective, affordable option for post-acute care.
The 2019-20 “Friend of Home Health Care” recipients include the following legislators:
Rep. Jimmy Anderson
Rep. David Bowen
Rep. Rob Brooks
Rep. Jonathan Brostoff
Sen. Tim Carpenter
Rep. Dave Considine
Rep. Barbara Dittrich
Rep. Steve Doyle
Rep. James Edming
Rep. Jodi Emerson
Rep. Mary Felzkowski
Sen. Dan Feyen
Rep. Cody Horlacher
Sen. Dale Kooyenga
Rep. Scott Krug
Sen. Chris Larson
Rep. Amy Loudenbeck
Rep. Nick Milroy
Rep. Jeff Mursau
Rep. Beth Myers
Sen. Steve Nass
Rep. Warren Petryk
Rep. Sondy Pope
Rep. Melissa Sargent
Sen. Patty Schachtner
Rep. Katrina Shankland
Rep. Chris Sinicki
Rep. Ken Skowronski
Rep. John Spiros
Rep. Mark Spreitzer
Rep. Lisa Subeck
Rep. Rob Summerfield
Sen. Lena Taylor
Sen. Patrick Testin
Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt
Rep. Ron Tusler
Rep. Don Vruwink
Rep. Chuck Wichger
“These legislators were critical to our legislative success and championed our most important priorities,” said Lisa Kirker, Chair of the WiAHC Board of Directors. “Home health care agencies across Wisconsin are grateful for the support and partnership of these individuals.”
WiAHC was very active during the 2019-2020 legislative session in educating legislators on the workforce issues facing home health care agencies and how increasing MA reimbursement rates can alleviate financial burden as well as attract new staff. WiAHC was successful in advocating for the introduction of Assembly Bill 447/Senate Bill 416, which aimed to increase MA reimbursement rates by 10% for home health visits. The bill received a public hearing in the Senate Health Committee, and WiAHC is hopeful there will be continued interest in the legislation next session. WiAHC also successfully advocated for legislation that allowed all MA reimbursable services to be conducted via telehealth.