Partnerships are an important component when working on projects or initiatives. At Tomah Health, continued partnerships with elected officials have been critical for quality health care.
WI Representative Nancy VanderMeer (R-Tomah) has translated her experience as a former member of the Tomah Memorial Hospital board of directors (now Tomah Health) into an important ally for critical hospital funding in the state Legislature.
In the state budget that was just passed by the legislature, and signed into law by Governor Evers, Rep. VanderMeer put forwarded a motion that resulted in the Joint Finance Committee providing substantial increases in funding to hospitals that provide care to every patient that walks through our doors, regardless of their ability to pay.
Underfunding from Medicaid alone results in $1.3 billion in hospital costs that need to be funded by everyone else. Increases in state funding, like that championed by Rep. VanderMeer, highlight the unique responsibility that community hospitals, like Tomah Health, have to care for every person regardless of their ability to pay and attempts to reduce the impact on other patients.
At Tomah Health, we continue to be grateful for the strong partnership that we, along with our colleagues at the Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA), have with Rep. VanderMeer. She is an important leader for rural health care and deserves recognition for all that she has achieved.