DOA:......Bollhorst, BB0428 - Health Care Provider Training Grants
For 2025-2027 Budget -- Not Ready For Introduction
An Act ...; relating to: the budget.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
General health and human services
Health care provider training grants
Under current law, DHS must distribute grants to hospitals, health systems, and educational entities that form health care education and training consortia for allied health professionals in an amount up to $125,000 per consortium in each fiscal year. The grants may be used for curriculum and faculty development, tuition reimbursement, or clinical site or simulation expenses.
Current law also requires DHS to distribute grants to hospitals and clinics that provide training opportunities for advanced practice clinicians in an amount up to $50,000 per hospital or clinic in each fiscal year and to give preference to training programs that include rural hospitals and rural clinics as clinical training locations. The grants must be used to pay for the costs of operating a clinical training program for advanced practice clinicians. Current law requires grant recipients under both grant programs to match the grants through their own funding sources.
This bill combines those grant programs under a single section of the statutes and funds the grants from a single appropriation. The bill removes the current law matching requirement for grant recipients and the grant amount caps. The bill also requires DHS to distribute grants to health systems that provide training opportunities for advanced practice clinicians and to hospitals, health systems, clinics, and educational entities that form health care education and training consortia for behavioral health providers. In awarding any grant under the bill, DHS must give preference to training programs that include rural hospitals and rural clinics as clinical training locations. The bill specifies that acceptable uses of grant moneys include reasonable expenses incurred by a trainee, expenses related to planning and implementing a training program, and up to $5,000 in equipment expenses.
For further information see the state fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. 20.435 (1) (fi) of the statutes is repealed.
****Note: This Section involves a change in an appropriation that must be reflected in the revised schedule in s. 20.005, stats.
Section 2. 20.435 (1) (fk) of the statutes is amended to read:
20.435 (1) (fk) Grants to establish advanced practice clinician health care provider training programs. Biennially, the amounts in the schedule for grants to hospitals, health systems, clinics, and educational entities that form health care education and training consortia under s. 146.615.
****Note: This Section involves a change in an appropriation that must be reflected in the revised schedule in s. 20.005, stats.
Section 3. 146.615 (title) of the statutes is amended to read:
146.615 (title) Advanced practice clinician Health care provider training grants.
Section 4. 146.615 (1) (ag) and (ar) of the statutes are created to read:
146.615 (1) (ag) “Allied health professional” means any individual who is a health care provider other than a physician, dentist, pharmacist, chiropractor, or podiatrist and who provides diagnostic, technical, therapeutic, or direct patient care and support services to a patient.
(ar) “Behavioral health provider” means any individual who is licensed as a psychologist or is certified as a social worker or licensed as a clinical social worker, a marriage and family therapist, or a professional counselor.
Section 5. 146.615 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:
146.615 (2) Beginning in fiscal year 2018-19 2025-26, from the appropriation under s. 20.435 (1) (fk), subject to sub. (3), the department shall distribute grants to hospitals, health systems, and clinics that provide new training opportunities for advanced practice clinicians. The department shall distribute the grants under this section subsection to hospitals, health systems, and clinics that apply, in the form and manner determined by the department, to receive grants and that satisfy the criteria under sub. (3).
Section 6. 146.615 (2g) and (2r) of the statutes are created to read:
146.615 (2g) Beginning in fiscal year 2025-26, from the appropriation under s. 20.435 (1) (fk), subject to sub. (3), the department shall distribute grants to hospitals, health systems, clinics, and educational entities that form health care education and training consortia for allied health professionals. The department shall distribute the grants under this subsection to hospitals, health systems, clinics, and educational entities that apply, in the form and manner determined by the department, to receive a grant.
(2r) Beginning in fiscal year 2025-26, from the appropriation under s. 20.435 (1) (fk), subject to sub. (3), the department shall distribute grants to hospitals, health systems, clinics, and educational entities that form health care education and training consortia for behavioral health providers. The department shall distribute the grants under this subsection to hospitals, health systems, clinics, and educational entities that apply, in the form and manner determined by the department, to receive a grant.
Section 7. 146.615 (3) (a) of the statutes is repealed.
Section 8. 146.615 (3) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
146.615 (3) (b) If the department distributes a grant to a hospital or clinic that has not previously received a grant under this section, the hospital or clinic receiving the grant may use the grant to create the education and infrastructure for training advanced practice clinicians or for activities authorized under par. (c). In distributing grants under this section, the department shall give preference to advanced practice clinician clinical training programs that include rural hospitals and rural clinics as clinical training locations.
Section 9. 146.615 (3) (bm) of the statutes is created to read:
146.615 (3) (bm) Acceptable uses of grant moneys received under this section include reasonable expenses incurred by a trainee to fully succeed in training and eventual placement, expenses related to planning and implementing a training program, and up to $5,000 in equipment expenses.
Section 10. 146.615 (3) (c) and (d) of the statutes are repealed.
Section 11. 146.616 of the statutes is repealed.
(end)
