An Act to renumber and amend 39.378 (1); to amend 39.378 (4); to create 39.378 (1) (b) and 39.378 (2m) and (3m) of the statutes; Relating to: tuition and materials reimbursement for community paramedics and community emergency medical services practitioners. (FE)
Summary
AB971 would expand Wisconsin’s existing tuition-and-materials reimbursement program, administered by the Higher Educational Aids Board, to cover additional emergency medical workforce pathways. Current law already allows reimbursement for people seeking initial certification or licensure as emergency medical responders or emergency medical services practitioners; this bill adds reimbursement for individuals completing training needed for Department of Health Services approval as a community paramedic or a community emergency medical services practitioner.
Under the bill, reimbursement could be paid either to the individual who personally paid the costs or to the employer that covered the tuition or materials. To qualify, the person must complete the relevant DHS-approved training program and receive DHS approval in the applicable community paramedic or community EMS practitioner role. The bill also updates the application provision so both the original reimbursement categories and the new community-based categories must apply on a board-prescribed form.
Impact
AB971 would amend section 39.378 of the Wisconsin statutes by adding new reimbursement eligibility categories and conforming language for the state’s training-cost reimbursement program. The practical effect is to broaden state financial support for EMS workforce development, potentially lowering out-of-pocket training costs for prospective community paramedics and community emergency medical services practitioners, as well as for employers that sponsor their training. It would not create a new licensing scheme, but it would tie reimbursement to DHS-approved training and approval under the existing community paramedic and community EMS practitioner statutes.
Sentiment
The available record shows no committee transcript or recorded vote debate, so there is no documented floor or committee sentiment to assess directly. Based on the bill’s subject matter and its introduction by a bipartisan group of Assembly members and a Senate cosponsor, the measure appears to have been framed as a workforce-support and public-safety bill rather than a controversial policy change. The bill ultimately did not advance, as it failed to concur pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1.
Contention
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials. The main policy issue implicit in the bill is whether state reimbursement should be expanded beyond traditional EMS certification and licensure to include newer community-based EMS roles, and whether the state should reimburse individuals, employers, or both. Any disagreement would likely center on program cost, administrative burden, and the scope of state support for EMS training, but the record provided does not identify any particular opponents or arguments.
Crossfiled
An Act to renumber and amend 39.378 (1); to amend 39.378 (4); to create 39.378 (1) (b) and 39.378 (2m) and (3m) of the statutes; Relating to: tuition and materials reimbursement for community paramedics and community emergency medical services practitioners. (FE)
Emergency medical services education, tuition and materials reimbursement for emergency medical responders and emergency medical services practitioners, and a live 911 pilot program. (FE)
Emergency medical services education, tuition and materials reimbursement for emergency medical responders and emergency medical services practitioners, and a live 911 pilot program. (FE)
Providing for certification of community paramedicine providers, for community paramedicine service coverage by casualty insurance carriers and for medical assistance reimbursement.
Reimbursement of emergency services under the Medical Assistance program when a patient is not transported, reporting on changes to the scope of practice of emergency medical responders and emergency medical services practitioners, and eligibility for the expenditure restraint incentive program. (FE)
Reimbursement of emergency services under the Medical Assistance program when a patient is not transported, reporting on changes to the scope of practice of emergency medical responders and emergency medical services practitioners, and eligibility for the expenditure restraint incentive program. (FE)
Community Health, Department of; submit a waiver request to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to authorize the qualification of certain caregivers for Medicaid reimbursement
Provides supplemental appropriation of $20 million for loan redemption program and tuition reimbursement program for certain teachers of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Relating to a refund of sales and use taxes or a credit against the franchise tax for certain small employers who contribute to an individual coverage health reimbursement arrangement.