Alliance of Health Insurers Urges CMS Not to Cut Medicare Advantage

The Alliance of Health Insurers (AHI) recently urged the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to reconsider deep cuts to the Medicare Advantage program which CMS had proposed. If the cuts take effect, AHI expressed concern that over 608,000 Medicare Advantage beneficiaries in Wisconsin alone will experience major premium increases and lose many of […]

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Kirsten Johnson Appointed DHS Secretary as Agency Releases State Health Plan, Equity Report

Kirsten Johnson Appointed DHS Secretary On Monday, Gov. Tony Evers (D) announced the appointment of Kirsten Johnson as secretary of the Department of Health Services (DHS). Most recently, Johnson was the Milwaukee Commissioner of Health for two years and previously spent 10 years as the director and health officer of the Washington Ozaukee Public Health […]

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Kicking Off Second Term, Gov. Evers Names Several New Agency Heads

Following the November 2022 election, three members of Gov. Tony Evers’ (D) cabinet announced they were leaving the administration. Sec. Preston Cole of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Sec. Mary Kolar of the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) have both retired, and Gov. Evers has since appointed their replacements. To lead DVA, Gov. […]

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State Agencies Submit 2023-25 Budget Requests

On September 15, Wisconsin state government agencies submitted requests for the next state budget to Gov. Tony Evers (D) and the Department of Administration (DOA). The state budgets on a two-year (biennial) basis, with fiscal years beginning July 1 and ending June 30. The 2023-2025 state budget will cover a two-year period from July 1, […]

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PFAS Update: DNR Begins New Groundwater Rulemaking

UPDATE (12/14/2022): NRB voted unanimously to authorize this new rulemaking during its December 2022 meeting. DNR will now begin drafting the rule. According to the scope statement approved by NRB, the department plans to hold a public hearing on the draft rule in July 2024. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is renewing its […]

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PFAS Update: State Rules Move Forward; New EPA Health Advisories; Judge Stays Ruling

Legislature Will Allow PFAS Rules to Take Effect This Year Rules regulating certain PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in drinking and surface water, developed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), could go into effect as soon as next month, with large public water systems required to begin testing for the compounds as early […]

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State Supreme Court Rules Against WMC in Business COVID Records Case

Last week, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in favor of the state in a case involving the release of a list of businesses with multiple COVID-19 cases among employees. The case originated during the early months of the pandemic during a time of much greater uncertainty surrounding the disease, and before the Wisconsin Legislature enacted […]

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U.S. to Extend COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Declaration

The federal government’s ongoing public health emergency (PHE) is expected to be extended again. Last month, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra announced the renewal of his department’s PHE determination with respect to COVID-19 in the United States. Wisconsin, like other states, has been working towards a potential July expiration […]

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Ethics Commission Updates Eye on Lobbying Website

The Wisconsin Ethics Commission recently completed an overhaul of its Eye on Lobbying website, a repository of information about lobbying activities in Wisconsin. Licensed lobbyists and registered lobbying interests must use the website to report information about their expenditures and other efforts to influence state legislation and administrative rulemaking. Members of the public can access […]

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Judge Rules DNR Should Have Promulgated a List of Hazardous Substances

On April 12, Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Michael Bohren ruled in favor of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) in a lawsuit involving two environmental cleanup programs managed by the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR). WMC, the state’s chamber of commerce and largest business lobby, filed the lawsuit last year along with dry cleaning […]

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