Please find-below a comprehensive list of proposals lobbied on by the WAFP during the 2012 legislative session, along with the Academy's position and the final status of each bill.  If you have any questions about the Academy's Government Affairs Program or would like to find out how you can participate in the political process, please do not hesitate to contact the WAFP office.

Special Session Senate Bill 1 Known as the Quality Improvement Act (QIA), this comprehensive legislation enhances patient safety and health care quality improvement efforts in Wisconsin. The new law makes much-needed upgrades to the state's peer review laws that allow health care providers to improve current practices. It also allows providers to share quality improvement findings with others without fear of the information being used against them in a lawsuit. The QIA expressly prohibits medical incident reports that are part of a quality improvement effort or required by a state regulatory agency from being used in civil proceedings. The bill also specifies in state law that medical errors or negligence is NOT a criminal act. WAFP Position: Supported Status: SIGNED INTO LAW

Special Session Senate Bill 2 This bill excludes from a person's income the amount that a person pays into a Health Savings Account (HAS). The legislation also excludes earnings from HSA contributions, as well as an employer's contributions to an HSA, from the person's income for state tax purposes. WAFP Position: Supported Status: SIGNED INTO LAW

Assembly Bill 147 Known as the I'm Sorry Bill, this legislation would have helped strengthen the doctor-patient relationship by making statements of apology or condolence by a health care provider inadmissible in civil legal proceedings. More specifically, the legislation would have excluded from admission or discovery a statement, gesture, or conduct, made by the health care provider, expressing apology, benevolence, compassion, condolence, fault, liability, remorse, responsibility, or sympathy to a patient or the patient's relative or representative. The bill was passed in the Assembly, but stalled in the state Senate. WAFP Position: Supported Status: DID NOT PASS

Assembly Bill 259 This legislation, regarding youth concussion awareness and prevention, requires the state to develop educational materials about the risk of head injuries and provide the information to coaches, youth athletes and their parents. Before participating in an organized youth sport, a child is required to submit a signed parental consent form. The bill also requires a youth athlete to be removed from competition if he or she shows signs or symptoms of a concussion. Once removed, the athlete is not permitted to return to the "field of play" until they are cleared by a qualified health care professional. WAFP Position: Supported Status: SIGNED INTO LAW

Senate Bill 108 Know as the Unsafe Milk Act, this legislation would have legalized the sale of unpasteurized milk and other raw milk products from a registered dairy farm to the general public. The WAFP opposed this bill due to the public health concerns associated with the consumption of unpasteurized milk. WAFP Position: Opposed Status: DEFEATED

Senate Bill 164 Known as the Healthy Jobs Act, this legislation would have created a tax credit for employers that provide workplace wellness programs for their employees. The WAFP supported this legislation due the preventive health benefits of wellness programs. Although the bill enjoyed broad bipartisan support, the bill was too costly ($5 million annually) to win legislative approval in the current fiscal environment. WAFP Position: Supported Status: DID NOT PASS

Senate Bill 237 Under current law, public schools that choose to teach human growth and development in the classroom must ensure the curriculum is medically accurate, age-appropriate and comprehensive. This legislation repealed current law. Among other provisions, the bill requires school districts to emphasize abstinence-only curriculum and creates additional barriers for volunteer health care providers who want to teach human growth and development education to students. The WAFP opposed the bill for various public-health reasons and the new restrictions placed on volunteer health care providers. WAFP Position: Opposed Status: PASSED INTO LAW

Senate Bill 280 This legislation would have allowed complementary and alternative health providers to practice medicine, nursing, dentistry and a number of other health care services without obtaining a license from the state of Wisconsin. The bill would have prohibited these individuals from performing certain activities, such as breaking the skin, prescribing medication and providing a specific medical diagnosis. The WAFP opposed this bill due patient safety concerns. WAFP Position: Opposed Status: DEFEATED

Senate Bill 306 This bill requires physicians performing abortions to confirm a woman is voluntarily consenting to an abortion and is not being coerced into undergoing the procedure. A physician who determines a woman is being coerced must provide the woman with domestic abuse information and access to a phone. In addition, the bill requires physicians to give a woman a complete, on-site physical exam before providing an abortion-inducing drug. Physicians who violate certain provision of the bill would be charged with a felony. The WAFP opposed the bill because it interferes with the physician-patient relationship. WAFP Position: Opposed Status: PASSED INTO LAW

Senate Bill 317 Under current law, schedule II controlled substances, such as Oxycodone and Morphine, can be dispensed with an electronic prescription only in emergency situations. Under this legislation, schedule II drugs can be dispensed with an electronic prescription during the normal course of business. The WAFP supported this bill because it improves the efficiency of health care services in Wisconsin. WAFP Position: Supported Status: SIGNED INTO LAW

Senate Bill 377 This bill eliminates the terms "mental retardation" and "mentally retarded" from state statute and replaces them with the term "intellectual disability." The WAFP supported this bill, as the change in terminology would align Wisconsin law with federal law. WAFP Position: Supported Status: SIGNED INTO LAW

Senate Bill 383 This bill will license anesthesiologist assistants (AAs) in Wisconsin and create a "scope of practice" for these health care professionals. The legislation requires AA's to work under the direct supervision of anesthesiologists and brings them under the purview of the Medical Examining Board. The WAFP supported this bill to increase patient confidence and safety and help eliminate a barrier to hiring anesthesiologist assistants in Wisconsin. WAFP Position: Supported Status: SIGNED INTO LAW

Senate Bill 464 This legislation prohibits credentialing boards at the WI Department of Safety and Professional Services (including the Medical Examining Board) from requiring applicants for a professional license to submit a copy of their fingerprints. While the WAFP supports a comprehensive licensing process to practice medicine in Wisconsin, the requirement to submit fingerprints created an unnecessary regulatory and financial burden on new physician applicants. The WAFP supported the bill to address this regulatory inconvenience. WAFP Position: Supported Status: SIGNED INTO LAW