Governor Tony Evers (center) joined by Senator Mary Felzkowski and Assemblyman Pat Snyder at a bill signing in Wausau. MWC photo by Mike Leischner
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — Governor Tony Evers spent part of his morning in Wausau signing five bills into law.
The new laws are aimed at expanding access to dental care throughout the state, which Evers says is just as important as other forms of healthcare. “Oral health impacts every aspect of your life. Making sure that it’s available for people [who] struggle or don’t have access is important. It’s an important piece just like mental health or other health programs.”
Over 65% of Wisconsin’s 72 counties are designated as dental health professional shortage areas. Evers adds that the problem isn’t new. “I can only speak for the last five years. I know Senator [Mary] Felzkowski worked on it before that. But I think we have always known that the Northwoods and other rural areas of the state struggle with healthcare issues.”
Senator Felzkowski one of the bills allows for the no-hassle transfer of hygenist licenses, which could make it easier for former residents to come back to Wisconsin to work. “This opens the door for people who have been trained in accredited programs in other states to enter our workforce immediately. I would guess if you want to move back to Wisconsin we are making a plea to you- they can come tomorrow.
“Maybe they were originally residents and they’d like to move back with their families. They can now operate and work in Wisconsin,” added Felzkowski.
Gov Evers, Sen. Felzkowski, and Rep. Pat Snyder were on hand for the bill signing at Northcentral Technical College in Wausau, which will receive $2 million to help expand their dental hygenist program and add a dental therapy program. Evers says he expects the state’s other Technical Colleges to follow suit.
“I know the technical college system well, I’ve worked with them for a long time. I have no question that a competitive group [and that] other Tech colleges will pick this up,” added Evers.
Here’s the complete list of bills and their descriptions, per a press release from Evers’ office:
Senate Bill 689, now 2024 Wisconsin Act 87:
- Authorizes licensure of dental therapists, who are healthcare providers who may engage in the limited practice of dentistry;
- Specifies certain criteria an individual must meet to be granted a dental therapist license by the Dental Examining Board, including completion of a qualifying dental therapy education program and passage of required examinations;
- Specifies that dental therapists may provide dental therapy services only as an employee of specified employers and only under the supervision of a dentist who is either similarly employed or who directly employs the dental therapist; and
- Requires that dental therapists limit their practice to federally defined dental shortage areas or practice in settings where at least 50 percent of their patient base consists of certain specified populations, such as Medicaid patients, uninsured patients, residents of long-term care facilities, Tribal citizens, and veterans.
Senate Bill 692, now 2024 Wisconsin Act 88:
- Ratifies and enters Wisconsin into the Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact, allowing individuals to become eligible to practice in Wisconsin and other compact states.
Senate Bill 702, now 2024 Wisconsin Act 89:
- Provides guidelines for the $20 million oral healthcare workforce program that was created in 2023 Wisconsin Act 19, the 2023-25 biennial budget;
- Specifies that the Technical College System Board, in coordination with the technical colleges, may submit a plan to the JFC to request the funding, and the plan should identify each technical college that requests funding, the amount of funding requested, and a description of proposed expenditures; and
- Requires that the submitted plan include requests for: (a) up to $2 million for NTC to expand its current dental hygienist and dental assistant programs and to develop a dental therapy program; (b) up to $1.43 million for any other technical college that offers a dental hygienist program on the effective date of the bill; and (c) up to $1 million for any technical college that currently does not offer a dental program or only a dental assistant program, to create a new program or expand an existing program.
Senate Bill 706, now 2024 Wisconsin Act 90:
- Modifies the existing health services scholarship program to address the lack of dental professionals throughout the state by limiting eligibility to students enrolled in the Marquette University School of Dentistry who agree to practice dentistry in a dental health shortage area for 18 months for each annual scholarship received; and
- Requires the Higher Education Aids Board to provide $350,000 annually to the School of Dentistry for the development and operation of programs that support recruiting and training of rural dentistry students.
Assembly Bill 62, now 2024 Wisconsin Act 91:
- Allows those with dental insurance coverage to assign reimbursement for dental services to a specific dental provider, removing the need for patients to cover the cost of care at the point of service and wait for reimbursement from their insurance provider.
Comments