Wisconsin Health Lawyer

Posts Tagged ‘Wisconsin License’

HPSA Areas In The State of Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services has published a map and other statistics relative to HPSAs in the state of Wisconsin.  [http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/health/primarycare/ShortageDesignations.htm]

Generally speaking, HPSAs are areas that indicate significant shortage of primary care services.  HPSAs are divided into three clusters:

i.          a geographic area such as a county, cluster of towns or census tracks;

ii.         a specific population within an area (i.e. low income population); or

iii.        a specific facility (i.e. a mental health facility or a state correctional facility.

Federal law requires that HPSA encompass a rational services area, must have a significant shortage of providers on a full-time equivalent basis as compared to the size of the area’s population.  Additionally, areas adjoining must be distant and/or have provider shortages themselves.

The State Health Department submits applications for HPSA designation.  HPSA designations must be renewed and redesignated every four (4) years.

A complete listing of all HPSA in the United States is maintained at http://hpsafind.hrsa.gov.  The more extensive listing included at that site includes a complete designation of all HPSAs within each county and is not limited to the broad geographic HPSAs within each county and is not limited to the broad geographic HPSA areas that are contained on the Wisconsin DHS map.  The more detailed designation also include facility-based HPSAs and automatic safety net HPSAs.

Providers should consult the more detailed list to be certain that the area they are servicing is within a HPSA.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services also contain a more detailed, city specific map of various cities within Wisconsin such as Milwaukee, Wausau, Beloit, Sheboygan, Racine, Waukesha and Kenosha .

For more information on HPSAs, visit the Wisconsin Primary Care Office website: http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/health/primarycare/ShortageDesignation.htm.

Nursing Facilities Are The First to Require Compliance Programs

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) mandates compliance programs for most providers and requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to publish regulations that establish the core elements for compliance programs.

Nursing facilities are the first providers to be mandated and must comply in 2013. However, CMS missed its statutory deadline of March 23, 2012 for issuing detailed regulations for nursing facility compliance programs. It is expected that these regulations and the requirements for other providers will be forthcoming now that the Supreme Court has opened the way for enforcement.  In the meantime, nursing facilities do not have precise guidance on compliance program requirements. 

Even though final detailed regulations have not been issued, providers should not wait to step up their compliance efforts.  There are many sources for guidance on how compliance should operate.  Providers will be required to certify that their compliance programs are effective in preventing and detecting criminal, civil, and administrative violations and in promoting quality of care.  Simply having a program in place is not enough.  The program must have sufficient operating history to demonstrate that it is “effective.”  Effectiveness reviews should be periodically performed to support the required certifications.

Wisconsin Department of Health Services Resource Links

Wisconsin DHS Main Page

Certification, Licensing and Permitting

• Ambulatory Surgery Centers
• Home Health Agencies
• Hospitals
• Hospice
• Nursing Homes
• Community Based Residential Facilities
• Residential Care Apartment Complexes
• Emergency Medical Providers
• Outpatient Rehabilitation Facilities
• Rural Health Clinics
• Mental Health Treatment Programs
• Plan Review for Health Facilities
• Clinical Laboratories

DHS Division of Long Term Care

DHS Office of Inspector General

DHS Division of Quality Assurance

 DHS Office of Legal Counsel

 Division of Quality Assurance ListServ

 DQA Facility Register

 DQA Provider Training