Hi, this is State Senator Mary Felzkowski. As a legislator serving 11 counties in Northern Wisconsin, I have seen firsthand how important health care is to living our best lives. This is a big reason why I choose to serve my district, and why my focus is on improving health care statewide.
Over the last several months, my colleagues and I have heard constantly from constituents and stakeholders that our long-term care providers, their invaluable workforce, and the patients they serve are reaching a crisis point, especially after living and working tirelessly throughout the pandemic. To answer their call, Republicans made unprecedented investments of over $250 million in our nursing homes, and over $180 million in our Family Care and Personal Care workforce. This funding will stabilize our workforce, and improve access to services in communities throughout the state, so patients can remain close to home.
I see every day how we can improve and enhance health care access across our state, especially in rural areas. We prioritized increasing that access in this budget by raising medical assistance funding for several services, including: dental care, physical therapy, chiropractic services, autism services, home health care, and emergency medical services.
This budget prioritizes taking care of the most vulnerable populations in our state, to help everyone in Wisconsin put their own health first. I am proud of this budget and I sincerely hope that Governor Evers will sign it.
