From WisPolitics.com/WisBusiness.com …
— Wisconsin has joined a lawsuit with 23 other states suing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for cutting $11 billion of public health grants to states, the state Department of Justice announced today.
According to filings from the state Department of Health Services, the federal government terminated six awards totaling over $225 million in Wisconsin. State health agencies rely on these grants for public health needs such as infectious disease management, emergency preparedness, mental health and substance abuse services and modernizing public health infrastructure, DOJ said.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced these grants would be terminated last week “for cause” because the COVID-19 pandemic is over. The state DOJ claimed today Congress had continued to approve funding for the grants to be used for other critical health services since the pandemic, and that Kennedy had “no legal authority” to cut off funding.
“These massive, sudden cuts would significantly ratchet up the Trump administration’s attack on programs that support the health and well-being of the American people,” Attorney General Josh Kaul said in the release. “It should go without saying that sacrificing our health to help fund tax cuts for the wealthy is deeply wrong.”
Gov. Tony Evers blasted the cuts last week and today when the lawsuit was announced, saying it would negatively impact critical funding for the state’s mental and behavioral health services, prevention and response to the opioid epidemic and local emergency medical services.
“President Trump and Elon Musk are recklessly trying to gut funding Wisconsin is depending on to help make our kids, families, and communities healthier and safer to help pay for tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires,” Evers said in a statement today.
WisGOP Rapid Response Director Anika Rickard said in a statement to WisPolitics earlier this week that these funding cuts will not harm Wisconsin.
“These funds are COVID-related grants that the state NEVER used,” Rickard said. “They are not necessary to any of the funding items Evers mentioned. Tony Evers is again using his platform to create fear for his own political gain. As a Governor, he should be working for the people and providing the truth, not creating instability.”
— GOP lawmakers are circulating legislation that would allow out-of-state care providers to offer telehealth services in Wisconsin, with some restrictions.
Sen. Rob Stafsholt, R-New Richmond, and Rep. Nate Gustafson, R-Fox Crossing, recently sent a co-sponsorship memo to other lawmakers seeking support for the bill.
It would require the state Department of Safety and Professional Services and any other applicable credentialing board to register someone from outside Wisconsin as a telehealth provider if they meet certain criteria. These include being credentialed in another state and having a “clean” disciplinary record.
DSPS would also be required to post online a list of all providers registered to offer telehealth under the bill, including details on their occupation, training, licens and disciplinary history, as well as any medical malpractice insurance policy information.
According to analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau, providers registered to offer telehealth in the state under the bill wouldn’t be allowed to open an office in Wisconsin or provide in-person care to patients in the state unless they obtain credentials in the state.
The legislation would also require those qualifying to provide telehealth from outside the state to notify DSPS or the relevant credentialing board about restrictions placed on their credentials or any disciplinary actions within five business days. And it authorizes disciplinary action if the provider fails to do so.
The co-sponsorship deadline is noon Friday.
See the memo.
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Press Releases
– Dept. of Justice: AG Kaul sues HHS, Sec. Kennedy to overturn public health grant cuts
