An Act to create 15.197 (22m) and 146.695 of the statutes; Relating to: establishment of a Palliative Care Council. (FE)
AB23 creates a Palliative Care Council within the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. The council is designed to bring together clinicians, health care leaders, patients or family members, and legislative representatives to advise DHS on palliative care policy, program evaluation, reimbursement, and access issues. The bill also requires the department, working with the council, to develop a statewide consumer and professional education program and to post palliative care information and resources on its website.
The council would be limited to advising on palliative care-related matters and is expressly barred from consulting on physician-assisted suicide, euthanasia, medical aid in dying, or any other affirmative act to end life, except for the withholding or withdrawing of care under an advance directive or power of attorney. The council must meet at least twice a year, represent different geographic areas of the state, and submit periodic reports to the legislature on access to palliative care and its effects on health care delivery systems and families.
The bill adds two new statutory provisions, creating a formal advisory council in DHS and a new palliative care section governing its duties, membership, reporting requirements, and public education responsibilities. It does not create a private right of action or a new standard of care, and it leaves clinical practice rules unchanged while directing state-level coordination, information-sharing, and policy review around palliative care services. The measure would affect DHS, health care providers, insurers involved in reimbursement decisions, patients and families receiving palliative care, and legislative oversight committees.
The available voting history suggests strong support for the bill in the Assembly, where it passed 96-1. No committee transcript excerpts are available, but the broad bipartisan sponsorship and the large margin of passage indicate generally favorable sentiment toward establishing a state palliative care advisory structure and education program. The bill ultimately did not become law, as it failed to concur in pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1.
The main substantive point of contention reflected in the text is the bill’s explicit prohibition on the council advising DHS about physician-assisted suicide, euthanasia, or medical aid in dying. That limitation appears intended to keep the council focused on palliative care and end-of-life comfort care rather than assisted-dying policy. Another likely area of concern is reimbursement and access, since the council is tasked with evaluating the adequacy of payment mechanisms and statewide availability of services, but no recorded committee debate is available to show specific objections or amendments.