From WisPolitics.com/WisBusiness.com …
— WMC is touting new survey results showing broad support for Medicaid work requirements among likely Wisconsin voters.
Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce yesterday released findings from a recent statewide poll conducted by Public Opinion Strategies for the Jobs First Coalition.
When asked if able-bodied single adults without children should be required to work in order to qualify for low-cost health care from the state’s Medicaid program, 76% were supportive including 55% indicating strong support, while 23% were opposed including 12% strongly opposed. Another 1% didn’t know or didn’t answer.
Scott Manley, executive vice president of government relations for WMC, said “work is the pathway to opportunity” in a statement on the findings.
“By strengthening work requirements, Wisconsin can help move individuals off the sidelines, rejoin the workforce, and experience the dignity and independence that comes with employment,” he said.
The survey was conducted over the phone Sept. 13-17, tapping 800 likely Wisconsin voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.46%. Other questions in the poll focused on funding for the state’s youth apprenticeship program and academic standards.
See more results in the release below.
— The state Department of Health Services today announced it has applied for $1 billion in federal funding from the Rural Health Transformation Program.
The program offers funding to states through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for various purporses, including covering certain health care costs, efforts to prevent and manage chronic disease, supporting access to opioid addiction treatment and more.
Under the state’s application, the $1 billion in requested funding would be used across three categories: $337 million for boosting the rural health care workforce by supporting career pathways and funding services; $329 million to invest in rural health care technology and digital infrastructure; and $279 million for a grant program to establish coordinated partners for improving rural care.
DHS Secretary Kirsten Johnson notes a third of state residents live in rural areas that often have limited care access.
“This funding will allow us to strengthen the infrastructure to improve health outcomes for those who live in rural Wisconsin,” she said in a statement.
CMS will decide on funding awards by Dec. 31, according to DHS. The state agency says it will soon begin recruiting for a team to manage the project.
See the release below.
— GOP state Rep. Amanda Nedweski argued allowing those who undergo a gender transition procedure as a minor to sue the health care provider who performed it is needed to provide a recourse for those who suffer an injury.
But Dem Sen. Melissa Ratcliff, whose son is transgender, accused the GOP co-authors of ultimately trying to dissuade providers from performing gender-affirming care and said the legislation is about “policing bodies.”
“They don’t want children to get the care that they need when they need it,” said Ratcliff, D-Cottage Grove.
SB 405 would allow anyone who suffered a physical, psychological, emotional or physiological injury after undergoing a procedure or related treatment as a minor to file a lawsuit by the time they turned 33.
The bill would give providers several defenses to such a suit. That includes documenting the individual’s perceived gender or sex for at least two years and receiving consent from the individual and their parents or guardians at least 30 days before the first treatment and during every subsequent medical visit during the following six months.
Providers would also need certification from at least one mental health professional and one health care provider that gender transition is the only way to treat any mental health concerns the person has. And they would need certification that the individual suffers from no other mental health concerns, such as depression, an eating disorder, autism or an intellectual disability.
Nedweski, testifying yesterday alongside co-author Sen. Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield, argued the market for gender-affirming care has exploded in recent years, creating a lucrative business for health care providers and pharmaceutical companies. She said under current law, patients harmed while undergoing other medical procedures have the option to seek a civil remedy, and the bill is about giving the same option to those who undergo gender-affirming care as minors.
“Medical accountability should not be a partisan issue,” she said. “We have a duty to ensure that the children are protected from experimental treatments that can inflict lasting damage on their bodies and their minds as they enter into adulthood.”
See more here.
— The GOP co-authors of legislation seeking to define abortion argued the bill was about providing clarity in state statute to ensure those seeking a procedure for ectopic pregnancy or a miscarriage can receive one.
Dem Sen. Chris Larson of Milwaukee, though, suggested the legislation was an attempt to tee up a later push for more restrictions on abortion in Wisconsin. Sen. Romaine Quinn, R-Birchwood, and Rep. Joy Goeben, R-Hobart, rejected that argument.
“We’re not trying to muddy waters. We’re trying to clarify,” Goeben told the Senate Licensing, Regulatory Reform, State and Federal Affairs Committee.
SB 553 would exempt some medical procedures from the definition of abortion. That includes a cesarean section due to a medical emergency, the removal of a dead embryo or fetus, or an ectopic, anembryonic, or molar pregnancy. It includes a requirement that the physician makes reasonable efforts to save the parent and fetus from harm.
Dem Gov. Tony Evers has vowed to veto the bill.
Goeben noted stories around the country of doctors declining to provide care due to confusion over what was legal, and she called it “cruel” that women who receive treatments for a miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy have listed on their medical record that they received an abortion.
Quinn, who pushed similar legislation last session, said he heard concerns from women after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the right to an abortion about obtaining care for a miscarriage.
See more from the committee meeting here.
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