Dear Friends,

I hope you are well. Governor Evers issued another Emergency order, this one limiting bars and restaurants to 25% of their indoor capacity.

I have serious concerns with this move and believe the governor is overstepping his authority. The courts will hopefully settle this dispute, but that doesn't mean we should abandon safe practices like wearing a mask and social distancing.

Congratulations again to MuL Technologies in Mequon! Their Mobile Autonomous Robotic Cart made it to the Final Four in the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce's Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin contest! Voting will continue through October 14th. Click on this link to help get them into the finals!

As always, if you have any concerns or ideas on how to improve our great state, please do not hesitate to contact me by phone at 608-266-5830 or by email at Sen.Darling@legis.wisconsin.gov.

On, Wisconsin!

This session, I worked very hard to lower the cost of health care. I've made it easier to for doctors to use technology and meet with their patients remotely and cut red tape that prevented patients from getting the treatments their doctors preferred. I didn't stop there.

 

I'm really proud of two bills I authored that became law to help improve health care options for people with no insurance or are underinsured.

 

More than 150,000 Wisconsinites utilize the more than 100 free and charitable clinics throughout the state each year. Currently, health care professionals are eligible for loan assistance if they agree to serve in rural or "eligible practice areas" which are tribal lands or areas with primary care or mental health shortages defined by federal law. I wanted to encourage even more doctors to serve in these clinics.

 

I wrote a bill that became law that expands the loan assistance program to areas with free and charitable clinics. This simple change should encourage more professionals to work at these clinics which will lead to more people being treated. Governor Evers signed my bill into law this session.

 

I also wanted to make sure homeless people had options for health care. I wrote a new law that removes disincentives for free and charitable clinics to serve the homeless.

 

Currently, the state provides liability coverage for licensed health professionals who volunteer their services to provide outpatient care at free clinics. However, a gap in the law prevents coverage when treating the homeless. This new law will help close that gap.

 

We are so fortunate to have many excellent doctors volunteering their time in our free and charitable clinics. Treating the homeless in free and charitable clinics should not jeopardize a volunteer doctor's liability insurance.

 

These new laws will help make sure that people without insurance or that are underinsured will have better options and better doctors for their health care.

Despite the pandemic, our state is seeing more positive economic news. County sales tax revenues are up over last year. That's encouraging news.

Our state might be in worse economic shape if we had rubber-stamped Governor Evers' budget proposal. His plan increased spending by more than $1,000 for each man, woman, and child in the state. Even with a surplus, the governor tried to raise taxes by more than $1 billion. Imagine getting hit with that tax bill after losing your job because of the COVID-19 shutdown.

Instead, I helped craft a budget that lived within our means. It borrowed less, taxed less, and doubled the Rainy Day Fund. We still managed to make historic investments in K-12 education. I'm glad Governor Evers decided to sign it into law.

While none of us could predict a global pandemic, it's important to be careful with the money you provide the state just in case.

The table above contains data reported on October 7, 2020 from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services on coronavirus cases in our area.

According to data from the Center for Disease Control, emergency room visits for COVID-19 symptoms are around three percent.

Source: CDC COVID Data Tracker

I'd like to thank the American Conservative Union for awarding me their "Award for Conservative Excellence" for 2020.

I'm an honored to earn this award from an organization that defends the principles of Life, Liberty, and Prosperity. Thank you!