For the last several years, WiAHC has been advocating to eliminate an outdated state regulation relating to professional advisory bodies for home health care agencies. WiAHC has been advocating for this change since professional advisory committees were removed from federal regulations in 2017, as home health agencies are already overseen by a governing body pursuant to federal regulations.  In addition, home health agencies are also overseen by governing bodies in Wisconsin regulations.  In 2017, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) also put in place federal regulations requiring home health agencies to implement ongoing quality assessment and performance improvement (QAPI) programs.  Essentially, CMS replaced professional advisory committees in federal regulations with the creation of the QAPI program.

In January 2023, WiAHC formally requested that the state Department of Health Services (DHS) eliminate professional advisory bodies for home health care agencies in the agency’s biennial rules review – a process by which DHS makes technical changes and updates to existing state regulations. As DHS included this change in their biennial rules review, WiAHC submitted formal testimony to DHS on September 26 in support of this change. In addition, one of WiAHC’s Madison lobbyists testified at the DHS September 26 virtual hearing in support of this change.

Further updates will be included in future editions of this newsletter.

On October 14, the state Senate approved Senate Bill 214, a bill that allows health care providers credentialed in other states to provide telehealth services in Wisconsin within their scope of practice by registering with the applicable occupational credentialing board or with the state Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS). This legislation has been referred to the state Assembly for further consideration. WiAHC supports this legislation.

Further updates will be included in future editions of this newsletter.

There have been a number of updates related to the 2026 Wisconsin gubernatorial race since the prior edition of this newsletter.

With respect to Democratic candidates, Lieutenant Governor Sara Rodriguez, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, and former labor union official and American Family Field beer vendor Ryan Strnad were the first to announce their respective candidacies. Over the last month, state Senator Kelda Roys (Madison), state Representative Francesca Hong (Madison), former Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation CEO Missy Hughes, and former state Representative Brett Hulsey (Middleton) have all joined the 2026 gubernatorial race. On October 7, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul announced that he will not run for governor but will run for re-election in his current role. For several months, media reports had considered him as a potential gubernatorial candidate. As this is written, former Lieutenant Governor and 2022 Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mandela Barnes has indicated that he is seriously considering running for governor.

On the Republican side, Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann and U.S. Representative Tom Tiffany (Minocqua) have announced their candidacies. Over the last few weeks, former four-term Governor Tommy Thompson publicly stated his interest in running for governor in 2026. He also considered running for governor in 2022 but ultimately decided not to run that year. Also, Milwaukee-area businessman Bill Berrien announced his candidacy for governor in early July but ended his campaign on September 26.

The state Department of Health Services (DHS) is seeking providers and professionals with experience with Wisconsin’s Medicaid program to apply to join the state’s Medicaid Advisory Committee. Joining this committee will give individuals an opportunity to give advice and guidance on Medicaid policies and services. In particular, DHS is seeking the following individuals to join this committee:

• Primary care providers
• Federally qualified health center staff
• Hospital administrative staff
• Professionals who help Medicaid members navigate enrollment, care, benefits, and payments (e.g., income maintenance workers, community health workers, benefits specialists, or navigators).

For more information or to apply, please click here. Applications are due by Monday, October 27, 2025.

On October 15, Governor Tony Evers (D) announced that the State of Wisconsin ended state fiscal year 2025 – which ended on June 30 – with a balance of $4.6 billion in the state’s general fund. This amount is $265 million higher than prior estimates. Also, it is notable that the state’s budget stabilization fund – also known as the “rainy day fund” – increased to approximately $2 billion at the end of FY2025. This is the rainy day fund’s largest balance in state history.

Last night, the Senate concluded votes on both a House republican CR and a Democratic CR, with both votes failing. With no path forward, the federal government shut down at midnight last night. This means that, among other things, telehealth flexibilities that were set to expire on September 30 are no longer in effect. The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has also released a contingency plan outlining its operations during the government shutdown.  More updates will be shared as available.  Alliance members are able to view the Alliance Daily Article for more information about the impacts of a government shutdown.

For the last several years, WiAHC has been advocating to eliminate an outdated state regulation relating to professional advisory bodies for home health care agencies. WiAHC has been advocating for this change since professional advisory committees were removed from federal regulations in 2017, as home health agencies are already overseen by a governing body pursuant to federal regulations.  In addition, home health agencies are also overseen by governing bodies in Wisconsin regulations.  In 2017, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) also put in place federal regulations requiring home health agencies to implement ongoing quality assessment and performance improvement (QAPI) programs.  Essentially, CMS replaced professional advisory committees in federal regulations with the creation of the QAPI program.

In January 2023, WiAHC formally requested that the state Department of Health Services (DHS) eliminate professional advisory bodies for home health care agencies in the agency’s biennial rules review – a process by which DHS makes technical changes and updates to existing state regulations. Our organization’s . rationale is that this would bring Wisconsin’s regulations in line with federal regulations for the reasons addressed above.

Subsequently, the draft DHS biennial rules review document includes the elimination of professional advisory bodies for home health agencies. On September 15, the agency announced that it will hold a public hearing in late September to accept comments – including written comments – regarding the draft biennial rules review document. WiAHC anticipates that it will submit comments at this hearing in support of eliminating the requirement for home health agencies to have professional advisory bodies. It is also worth noting that WiAHC also submitted written comments to DHS in July on the positive economic impact of removing professional advisory bodies from state regulations. These comments were based on economic impact feedback that WiAHC members had provided via a survey. Thank you to those WiAHC members who provided this feedback!

Further updates will be included in future editions of this newsletter.

On September 15, Governor Tony Evers (D) signed an executive order directing state government agencies to make sure that Wisconsinites are able to easily access vaccines, particularly the COVID-19 vaccine. More specifically, the executive order directs the state Department of Health Services (DHS) to “work with the Wisconsin Pharmacy Examining Board, the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI), and any other relevant state agencies and offices to ensure vaccine access for Wisconsinites to the fullest extent of the law and available funding”. The order also requires DHS to issue a standing order to allow Wisconsinites to access the COVID-19 vaccine at pharmacies. Additionally, the executive order requires the OCI to direct health insurance companies to provide full insurance coverage – within existing regulatory authority – for this vaccine.

The governor’s full press release may be viewed here.

On September 9, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) held a press conference to announce the creation of new Speaker Task Forces to address several policy areas. During prior legislative sessions, Speaker Vos has created such task forces, which hold public hearings and meetings to examine specific policy areas with the ultimate goal of drafting related legislation. He indicated that the Assembly will likely vote on such legislation in January and February 2026.

Speaker Vos created the following Speaker Task Forces:

• Protecting Children

• Government Efficiency and Modernization

• Replacing outdated, redundant processes with modern tools.
• Reducing administrative overhead through automation.
• Integrating systems across agencies to avoid duplicate work.
• Using data to predict demand and allocate resources more effectively.

• Elder Services

• Rulemaking

Following Labor Day, the state Legislature resumed its Fall session work period. In addition to state Assembly and Senate committees holding public hearings on various pieces of legislation, both chambers are able to hold session days. These are days during which each respective chamber votes on legislation. Both chambers are able to hold session days in both October and November, with additional possible session days in 2026.