Bill would require hospitals to give prior before closures

Bill would require hospitals to give prior before closures

Hospital systems would be required to notify the Department of Health and Human Services at least 90 days prior to discontinuing services or closing a hospital, under legislation introduced by U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin.

The bill, in response to the sudden closure of several hospitals and clinics around the Chippewa Valley by Hospital Sisters Health System, would also require hospitals that close to create a plan to connect patients with accessible and quality care.

“If a big hospital is going to shut down in one of our communities, they should help ensure patients don’t slip through the cracks when they are gone,” said Baldwin, D-Madison, who borrowed from the hospital system’s acronym (HSHS) in naming her legislation, the Hospital Stability and Health Services Act. “This legislation will help ensure those big hospital systems put their patients before profits and give Wisconsin families what they deserve: peace of mind that they will have access to the care they and their families need to stay healthy.”

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Tammy Baldwin

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis. speaks before President Joe Biden on Jan. 25 in Superior, Wis.




Since announcing the legislation, Baldwin has received support from several officials, including Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who has been locked in an impasse with Republican lawmakers over the release of crisis response grants for western Wisconsin since the string of shutdowns.

In February, Evers signed legislation intended to provide $15 million to support health care access in the region. The funding is part of $200 million in approved spending that Republicans on the Legislature’s budget committee have yet to release.

The lawmakers say that, because of Evers’ partial vetoes, the money that they intended to be directed to Chippewa County and Eau Claire counties could be dispersed beyond the region.







HSHS Sacred Heart closes

HSHS Sacred Heart employees take part in an honor walk in front of the Eau Claire hospital March 21 before the hospital closed.




“While it’s unfortunate Republican lawmakers are continuing to hold up the $15 million for the Chippewa Valley that I approved in February, I’m grateful Sen. Baldwin is working at the federal level to make sure Wisconsin patients aren’t left in the lurch and patients and communities are protected from abrupt hospital closures like the ones that happened in western Wisconsin,” Evers said in a statement.

U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, said he wished Baldwin would have reached out to him to collaborate on the federal legislation.

“I took the closure of the HSHS and Prevea Health facilities in Wisconsin’s 3rd District very seriously and immediately started working on legislation to mitigate a health care blackout for rural Wisconsinites,” Van Orden said in a statement. “Despite these efforts, Sen. Baldwin’s office did not reach out to work with us on the legislation she just introduced, which is disappointing.”

State Rep. Jodi Emerson, D-Eau Claire, said she is disappointed the funding has been held up.

“I am thankful for Sen. Baldwin’s consistent willingness to listen to our community and fill the gaps that legislative Republicans have refused to acknowledge,” Emerson said. “While we continue to wait for state action to address the needs of our community after the closure of HSHS, this legislation offers hope for better protections and preparedness moving forward.”

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