Madison – On Wednesday at the Capitol, Governor Tony Evers signed two health care access bills authored by Representative Nancy VanderMeer (R-Tomah). Senate Bill 400 enters the state of Wisconsin into the Physician Assistant Licensure Compact and Senate Bill 527 creates a grant program for suicide prevention programming that’s modeled after the work of the Monroe County Mental Health Coalition.
“Getting any proposal from idea to finish line usually is a pretty heavy lift, so I’m very thankful to have these bills signed today. There are a number of people to thank for their ideas and advocacy on these two bills, some over a number of years and multiple legislative sessions, including Physician Assistants from Tomah Health, Gundersen Health, Mayo Clinic, and others from throughout the 70th Assembly District, and a number of excellent individuals involved with the Monroe County Mental Health Coalition. Thank you as well to my colleagues from both sides of the aisle for their support and to the governor and his team for seeing the value in these bills for individuals throughout the state,” VanderMeer said.
Senate Bill 400 continues Representative VanderMeer’s work related to health care licensing and striving to make it easier for health care professionals to provide care close to home for those in her legislative district and throughout the state. Throughout her legislative career, she has authored and passed a number of health care compacts, including the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact for Physicians, the Enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact, and the Occupational Therapy Compact. She has also authored a licensing compact for Dentists and Dental Hygienists in the current legislative session. Senate Bill 527, first introduced in 2019, creates a grant program within the Department of Health Services, utilizing $250,000 of existing federal funds, to award grants to local mental health organizations or coalitions throughout the state for suicide prevention programming. Under the bill, an organization receiving a grant is required to match the grant at a value equal of at least 20% of the grant, and grant amounts will be limited to no more than $25,000 per organization in a fiscal year.
“As I’ve shared a number of times with my colleagues, I think that one of the best things we can do as a legislative body is to remove barriers to care by allowing and encouraging health care professionals to provide care where it’s needed. This compact, and others like it, remove barriers to care by allowing and encouraging health care professionals to provide care where it’s needed while at the same time preserving our state’s high standards pertaining to licensing, regulation, professionalism, and quality of care,” VanderMeer continued.
