Daniel Vrakas
Chairperson
Committee on Labor and Employment
The committee on State Affairs reports and recommends:
Assembly Bill 491
Relating to: designation of a State Fire Fighters Memorial and a State Police and Fire Fighters Hall of Fame.
Passage:
Ayes: 9 - Representatives Skindrud, Musser, Silbaugh, Coleman, Gunderson, L. Young, Wood, Baumgart and Ryba.
Noes: 0.
To committee on Rules.
Assembly Bill 653
Relating to: requirements for claiming a prize at a raffle conducted under a Class B license.
Passage:
Ayes: 7 - Representatives Skindrud, Musser, Silbaugh, Coleman, Gunderson, L. Young and Wood.
Noes: 2 - Representatives Baumgart and Ryba.
To committee on Rules.
Rick Skindrud
Chairperson
Committee on State Affairs
The committee on Veterans and Military Affairs reports and recommends:
Assembly Bill 16
Relating to: granting credit for the payment of postretirement health insurance premiums under the state group health insurance program for accumulated unused sick leave earned for service in Wisconsin as a national guard technician prior to 1966 and making an appropriation.
Passage:
Ayes: 9 - Representatives Musser, Zukowski, Dobyns, Skindrud, Lorge, Ryba, Boyle, Baldus and Vander Loop.
Noes: 0.
To joint committee on Finance.
Terry Musser
Chairperson
Committee on Veterans and Military Affairs
__________________
Speaker's Appointments
February 9, 1996
Representative Rebecca Young
Room 119 North, State Capitol
Madison, Wisconsin 53702
Dear Representative Young:
A835
Due to the resignation of Representative Richard Grobschmidt from the Assembly, it is my pleasure as Speaker to appoint you as a member of the Assembly Committee on
Education.
The appointment is effective immediately.
Sincerely,
David Prosser, Jr.
Speaker
__________________
Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Department of Regulation and Licensing
Medical Examining Board
Madison
January 19, 1996
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
Wisconsin Act 180, which became effective on April 29, 1992, changed the requirements for a certificate to practice as a physician assistant. The Act created sec. 448.05(5)(a) 1 & 2, Stats., to require that an applicant for a certificate must be certified to assist primary care physicians by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants, and that the applicant must have satisfactorily completed a physician assistant training program approved by the board. The board by rule established that an approved educational program is one accredited and approved by the Committee on Allied Health Education and Accreditation of the American Medical Association.
Nonstatutory provisions of the Act provided that notwithstanding the requirements of sec. 448.05 (5)(a), Stats., the board was to grant certification to applicants who applied prior to July 1, 1993, and who met the requirement at sec. 448.05 (5)(a)1, Stats., but who did not meet the requirements of sec. 448.05 (5)(a)2, Stats. The board was required to record the qualifications of persons qualifying under this provision, including the evidence satisfying the board that the applicant had experience or informal training substantially equivalent to an approved formal training program, and had completed a physician assistant education program not approved by the board. Finally, the board was to report to the legislature by March 1, 1993, the number of applicants approved for certification under the nonstatutory provisions, which report was to include the board's evaluation of the applicants' qualifications, and any recommendations for changing the requirements for certification of physician assistants.
Only one applicant for certification as a physician assistant was granted certification under the nonstatutory provisions of Wisconsin Act 180. Mark Avery Helgeson was granted certificate #682 on November 19, 1992, based upon his having been granted an associate degree in science from St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minnesota, on February 19, 1976, and upon his having practiced as a registered physician assistant in the State of Minnesota since September 12, 1987. Mr. Helgeson had successfully completed the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination administered by the National Commission of Physician Assistants, Inc., and was granted certification by the national commission on January 15, 1981.
Based upon the limited experience with applicants applying under the nonstatutory provisions of
1991 Wisconsin Act 180, the Medical Examining Board has no recommendation for changing the requirements for certification as a physician assistant under sec. 448.05(5), Stats.
Sincerely,
Clark O. Olsen, M.D.
Chairman
Medical Examining Board
__________________
Date: January 22, 1996
To: State Agency Financial Managers
From: William J. Raftery, CPA
State Controller
Department of Administration
Subject: Quarterly Accounts Receivable Reporting/
Referral of Delinquent Accounts to Statewide
Collection Agents
All agencies are required to submit a quarterly accounts receivable aging schedule for each receivable type that they manage. Please submit these reports by the end of the month following the quarter. The reports for 12/31/95 are due by Wednesday, January 31st. Attached is a copy of the report and instructions. Also attached is a listing of all accounts receivable types reported for the 9/30/95 quarter.
All agencies that do not have existing contracts with collection agents are required to refer their delinquent accounts through the Statewide Collection Agent Contract. To do this, contact Chris Schwass in the State Controller's Office at 266-6820. Your accounts will be assigned to a collection agent by DOA. Once your accounts are assigned, the collection agent will contact you directly to arrange for the actual transfer of delinquent account information. Agencies are expected to aggressively refer their delinquent accounts when it is in the best interest of the state to do so.
If you have any questions about your accounts receivable reports or delinquent account referrals, please contact Jeff Anderson at 266-8347.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
January 23, 1996
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
A836
We have completed our review of the Preadmission Screening and Annual Resident Review (PASARR) process, which is administered by the Department of Health and Social Services. The process, which is federally required for all states participating in the Medical Assistance (MA) program, is used to screen nursing home applicants and residents for serious mental illness and developmental disabilities. PASARR screening requirements apply to both MA and privately paying individuals. The Department expended a total of $5.1 million on the program in 1994, $3.9 million of which was paid to five contractors.
Although some of the federal requirements, such as requiring every nursing home resident to be screened annually for developmental disability, appear to be unnecessary, it appears the Department has little latitude in implementing the program. It is evident, however, that the Department should have exercised more control over the establishment of reimbursement rates for the provision of second-level screening. Because control was limited, three of the five contractors were apparently overcompensated by more that $1.5 million in 1994. Of this amount, more than $1.2 million was paid to one contractor. According to an audit filed with the Department by the contractor, its sole officer was compensated more than $1 million in 1994, with additional payments made for payroll taxes and retirement benefits.
The Department is currently seeking to recoup the overpayments. However, two of the three contractors, including the contractor from which the Department is seeking to recoup more than $1.2 million, have challenged the Department's authority to recoup any of the funds. According to department staff, the third contractor, from which the Department is seeking $200, 514, is working cooperatively to reach a settlement. It is expected that the Department will undertake a similar recoupment effort for the 1995 contract year because identical contracts were in place.
Finally, although the Department has developed a data base designed to provide information about the outcomes of the PASARR program, the information generated is inconsistent. Therefore, it is not possible to provide definitive information about the outcomes of the screening process, such as how many individuals were removed or diverted from nursing homes as a result of it.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by staff of the Department of Health and Social Services during the course of this review.
Respectfully submitted,
Dale Cattanach
State Auditor
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
January 29, 1996
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
As part of our ongoing audit of the Department of Transportation, we have reviewed the administration and funding of the State's railroad crossing safety program. Both the Department of Transportation and the Office of the Commissioner of Railroads share responsibility for the safety of 4,792 public railroad crossings in Wisconsin, which include safety equipment such as railroad warning signs, side-of-the-road or overhead flashing lights, and barrier gates.
From 1974 through 1994, the number of vehicle/train accidents declined from 401 to 165, or 0.1 percent of all vehicle accidents in 1994, and the fatality rate in Wisconsin is lower than the national rate and the rates of other midwestern states. However, Wisconsin's accident and injury rates per 1,000 crossings are higher than the national average and those of most neighboring states. Further, economic costs and the chances of serious injury or death are substantially higher in accidents that involve vehicles and trains than in those that involve vehicles alone.
While the Department has, in recent years, allocated federal funds to railroad crossing safety projects in addition to the federal and state funds appropriated for this purpose, this practice may end because of anticipated demands on federal funds for other transportation purposes. For each year of the 1995-97 biennium, expenditures for new crossing safety equipment are estimated at $2.4 million, continuing the decline in program expenditures from the program's peak year, fiscal year (FY) 1992-93, when $3.6 million was spent. Equipment maintenance funds will remain at FY 1993-94 levels.
At the same time, a growing waiting list of projects identified by the Office of the Commissioner of Railroads includes 34 safety projects with estimated costs of $2.9 million. Another 60 projects await review, which is likely to result in approval of approximately 15 projects with an estimated cost totaling $1.1 million. In addition, the Department has initiated an effort to review safety at all crossings over the next three years.
Alternative sources of funding to provide safety equipment at more crossings may include federal discretionary funds, federal highway safety funds, state funds currently used to reimburse railroad companies for maintenance of safety equipment, local funds when the additional safety equipment results from local road improvement projects, or other funds from the Transportation Fund.
Attached is a more complete discussion of our findings with regard to railroad crossing safety equipment. We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by staff of the Department of Transportation and the Office of the Commissioner of Railroads.
Respectfully submitted,
Dale Cattanach
State Auditor
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Department of Administration
Madison
January 30, 1996
