MADISON – Today, Wisconsin State Representative Robyn Vining (D-Wauwatosa), Rep. Mark Spreitzer (D-Beloit), Rep. Daniel Riemer (D-Milwaukee), State Senator Jon Erpenbach (D-West Point), and Sen. Melissa Agard (D-Madison) along with frontline healthcare workers introduced the “Healthcare Heroes Act”, legislation in support of healthcare workers in Wisconsin. This bill provides benefits for healthcare workers, including hazard pay, paid medical leave, state-funded COVID-19 testing and treatment for those uninsured, and insurance coverage for COVID-19 testing and treatment. The bill also accepts the Medicaid expansion. Rep. Vining released the following statement regarding the bill introduction:
“Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic nearly two years ago, we have witnessed frontline healthcare workers across Wisconsin heroically care for our communities. From hospitals and nursing homes to homecare agencies and first responder roles, frontline healthcare workers risk their own health and lives and that of their families. They perform vital jobs for patients and public health during the COVID-19 pandemic, and will continue to do so.
“When our healthcare heroes told us what they needed, as legislators we heard them, we agreed, and so that’s why we originally introduced the Healthcare Heroes Act in June of 2020. It is now January of 2022, almost two years later.
“Today, we reintroduce the Healthcare Heroes Act. Healthcare workers are heroes, and we should provide the support and resources they need to continue their heroic work and keep our communities protected from this pandemic. Frontline healthcare workers continue performing vital roles to combat this pandemic, because it is not simply what they do, but who they are. Wisconsin healthcare heroes are counting on us to act. Healthcare workers have been doing their job, and now it’s our turn to do ours.”
Miguel Meza, a CNA at Oakwood, commented, “A lot of CNAs and nurses have children they have to take care of and they can’t afford weeks off without pay.”
Louise Nordstrom, a Meriter nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit, said, “If the Healthcare Heroes Act passes, there would certainly be a collective sigh of relief from healthcare workers across the state. From receiving hazard pay to the assurance of paid sick leave to the 100% insurance coverage of treatment costs for COVID, this legislation serves to protect us who have answered the call to fight this deadly virus for the last two years.”
Rep. Vining represents the 14th Assembly District, which includes parts of Brookfield, Wauwatosa, and Milwaukee. For more information, visit Rep. Vining’s website here.
