Priority Issues

Issue: The "APRN" Bill (Senate Bill 394)

  • WACEP and its lobbyist are encouraging the Governor to veto Senate Bill 394.  This bill takes physicians out of patient care and jeopardizes patient safety. From independent practice without any physician involvement to prescribing privileges that are regulated solely by the state’s Board of Nursing, this bill disrupts the cooperative and collaborative team-based model of health care that makes Wisconsin a leader in patient care. WACEP believes that Emergency Care is best led by an emergency physician and that the best solutions to increase access to care in rural areas does not include complete advanced practice nurse independence. Passage of this bill will translate into nurse practitioners working independently in your local urgent care or an emergency department with no physician involvement or backup.

Issue: Medicaid Reimbursement

  • WACEP and its lobbyist are working diligently to protect our state's emergency medical system by replacing abnormally low Medicaid rates with those used by Medicare for emergency services. 
    • WACEP handout distributed at Doctor Day 2018 (link)
    • WACEP testimony on AB-871: MA Intensive Care Coordination (link)
    • WACEP/ACEP/EDPMA comments on Wisconsin's proposed amendments to 1115 Medicaid Waiver (link)
    • WACEP handout distributed at Doctor Day 2017 (link)
    • WMS summary of reimbursement rates for various EM codes (link)
Issue: Emergency Psychiatric Care
  • Wisconsin Act 140, Emergency Detention Bill (link)
  • Act 140 Clarification Memo (link)
Issue: Opioid Prescribing in Emergency Departments
  • Visit the Opioid Resources Page (link)
Issue: Body Cavity Searches
  • Wisconsin ACEP has developed a summary of recent legislation that brings legal protections to providers who perform body cavity searches (link)
Issue: Eliminating Barriers to the Advancement of Women in Emergency Medicine
  • Wisconsin ACEP has adopted a policy statement on best practices to eliminate barriers to the advancement of women in emergency medicine (link)