Visiting Eau Claire, Evers Chides Legislators for Blocking Hospital Funds

Hospital waiting area. (Public Domain)

Money to help western Wisconsin health care providers respond to the loss of two hospitals in the region has gotten snagged as Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Republican lawmakers wrangle over how it should be spent.

Evers called on Republican leaders of the Legislature’s powerful budget committee Monday to release funds set aside last month for western Wisconsin health care providers seeking to fill gaps left by the imminent closure of HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire and HSHS St. Joseph Hospital in Chippewa Falls.

“Republicans are continuing to obstruct the release of $15 million in crisis response resources to help support the health care industry across the Chippewa Valley,” Evers said at a press conference at North Lakes Community Health Care in Eau Claire. “What are Republicans waiting for? Enough is enough. It is time to act.” He noted that Sacred Heart Hospital announced just last week that it was closing by the end of this week, much sooner than originally planned.

A plan from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) calls for soliciting grant applications for the money and sets a series of priorities for proposals, including emergency services as well as filling other health care gaps in the region.

Late Monday afternoon, Republican lawmakers who wrote the original legislation appropriating the funds accused Evers of “playing politics.” They demanded that the health department instead submit a plan that followed the original GOP bill for the aid — limiting it to emergency services and restricting it to Eau Claire and Chippewa counties.

“We are calling on the governor to direct his Department of Health Services to bring forward a comprehensive plan that will actually help our area and ensure these funds go to Chippewa Valley,” said a joint statement signed by six GOP Assembly members. “We are asking the governor to stop playing politics with the critical services our community needs.”

Standoff over funding specifics

Evers also coupled messaging over the stalled Chippewa Valley health care aid Monday with reminders that the Joint Finance Committee has not released $125 million in state budget funds to combat PFAS contamination in Wisconsin.

A Republican bill directing the funds has passed both houses, but Evers confirmed in a letter to the finance committee’s Republican co-chairs that he would veto the measure because of provisions that critics say would block the state from taking legal action against polluters responsible for PFAS contamination.

Monday was the latest standoff between the Republican lawmakers and the Evers administration along with Democratic lawmakers over the Chippewa Valley health care funding since the hospitals’ surprise announcement in January that they were closing.

The hospitals are owned by the Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS) in Springfield, Illinois. In addition, 19 clinics providing urgent care and other services in the region also announced they would close. The clinics are operated by Prevea Health, based in Green Bay, in partnership with HSHS.

In February, a group of western Wisconsin Republican lawmakers introduced a bill transferring $15 million in unspent funds from Wisconsin’s 2021-23 budget into the current budget general fund and a second bill appropriating the money.

Lawmakers who drafted the legislation, led by Sen. Jesse James (R-Altoona) and Rep. Rob Summerfield (R- Bloomer), specified it was for emergency room capital expenditures in Chippewa and Eau Claire counties only.

In an interview with the Wisconsin Examiner Monday, Chippewa County Administrator Randy Scholz said concern about replacing lost emergency services was top of mind for doctors and others in community meetings after the closing was announced.

Other service gaps, including the need for more mental health services for children and adults, were also frequently raised, he added, but emergency services continued to draw concern. “I still do feel that that is the No. 1 priority, because that’s what we keep hearing from the doctors,” Scholz said.

While the Republicans’ bill was being fast-tracked through the Legislature, however, Democratic lawmakers Rep. Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire) and Sen. Jeff Smith (D-Brunswick) protested they had been cut out of the discussions about the bill and said the region’s health care providers and other officials had told them the need was broader.

Evers: Vetoes provided local flexibility

On Feb. 28, Evers vetoed the appropriation bill and signed the bill transferring the funds, using his budgetary partial veto power to remove the language that had specified emergency services capital spending and had limited the funds to the two counties. The same day, DHS submitted its plan to the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee (JFC), which must approve the plan or an alternative in order for the department to spend the money.

The health department plan identifies eligible hospitals as those in the DHS Western Region while giving priority “for hospitals in Eau Claire and Chippewa Counties.” The plan would require grant recipients to “agree to expand capacity” at hospitals that accept all types of payors for health care, including commercial insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, self-paid patients and uninsured patients.

Eligible applicants under the DHS plan could include providers proposing to increase emergency department capacity and services or proposing to expand urgent care, inpatient psychiatric services, inpatient obstetrics/gynecology services, mental health and substance abuse services, or to expand or establish hospital-owned and operated ambulance services.

“Through the competitive grant process, the Department will gain information about the number of hospitals and type of services in need of grant support and will make decisions about the size and number of grant awards,” DHS wrote in its plan cover letter to JFC chairs Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) and Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam).

On his swing through the region Monday, Evers was accompanied by DHS Secretary-designee Kirsten Johnson as well as legislators Smith and Emerson.

According to the governor’s office the group began with a visit to the Marshfield Medical Center-Eau Claire, where they met with executives including interim Marshfield CEO Dr. Brian Hoerneman. Marshfield announced in February it would expand its Eau Claire facility’s obstetrics and postpartum services to meet an expected increase in demand with the HSHS closings.

After the news conference, the governor’s party toured a new North Lake clinic due to open later this month to provide behavioral and mental health services along with obstetrics and postpartum services, and visited a second Marshfield Medical Center in Lake Hallie that is slated to add new urgent care services prompted by the HSHS closings and the loss of the Prevea clinics, the governor’s office said.

At his press conference, Evers defended his vetoes that eliminated the more restrictive language.

“I’ve heard directly from local partners, community members and health care stakeholders about how we can best support the needs in this area. Those conversations have informed our administration’s response every step of the way,” Evers said, adding that his vetoes “made significant improvements available to provide more local flexibility for how those resources should be used.”

Visiting Eau Claire, Evers chides finance committee for not acting on hospital aid was originally published by Wisconsin Examiner.