Gov. Tony Evers approved Senate Bill 1015, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 97, securing $15 million in crisis response resources to support health care access in western Wisconsin, according to a recent press release. The move comes in the wake of the recent announcement of HSHS and Prevea Health’s decision to close several locations. In addition to severely impacting health care access in the area, according to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, the closures have been estimated to impact approximately 1,400 workers in the surrounding region.
Evers approved Act 97 with line-item vetoes that will provide additional flexibility for the $15 million crisis response investment, enabling the resources to be used to fund any hospital services meeting the area’s health care needs, including urgent care services, OB-GYN services, inpatient psychiatry services, and mental health substance use services, among others. Without the governor’s vetoes, these services would not have been eligible under SB 1015.
Concurrent with the governor’s announcement today, Gov. Evers also directed DHS to submit an official request to the Wisconsin State Legislature’s Republican-controlled Joint Committee on Finance to immediately release the $15 million provided for under Act 97.
Upon Joint Committee on Finance approval of the DHS’ request, the department will conduct a competitive grant application process for the $15 million in funding for eligible hospitals and hospital services meeting specific criteria.
