Senate Bill 516
Requiring hospitals to allow designation of a caregiver
Stopped in committee
It never got a , so it never came up for a vote. To try again, a lawmaker would have to start a new bill.
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Introduced, passed
Oct 18, 2019
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Committee, stopped here
Stopped here. No public hearing was held.
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Senate vote, not reached
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Assembly vote, not reached
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Governor, not reached
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Law, not reached
Latest entry in the official record, Apr 1, 2020: “Failed to pass pursuant to ”
It never got a hearing in the Senate Committee on Government Operations, Technology and Consumer Protection. See every bill that never got a hearing this session.
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Terms on this page
Committee
A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
Senate Joint Resolution 1
The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.
Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1. More in the glossary
Legislative Reference Bureau
The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.
Official term: LRB analysis. More in the glossary
Author
A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.
Official term: Author, coauthor. More in the glossary
Signed on in support
Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.
Official term: Cosponsor. More in the glossary
What it would have done
Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.
This bill requires hospitals to provide a patient or, if applicable, a patient's legal guardian with an opportunity to designate a caregiver who will receive, before the patient is discharged from the hospital, instruction regarding assistance with the patient's care after discharge.
Under the bill, a hospital must, no later than 24 hours following a patient's admission to a hospital and before the patient is discharged or transferred, provide at least one opportunity for a patient or, if applicable, a patient's legal guardian to designate at least one caregiver. If a patient is unconscious or otherwise incapacitated when admitted, the hospital shall provide an opportunity for caregiver designation within 24 hours after the patient regains consciousness or capacity. If a patient or legal guardian designates a caregiver, a hospital must promptly record the name and contact information of the caregiver. If a patient or legal guardian declines to designate a caregiver, the hospital must also promptly document that information. Patients are not required to designate a caregiver under this bill and, further, the designation of a caregiver does not obligate any individual to provide aftercare for the patient. A patient may elect to change the designated caregiver at any time, and the hospital must record the change within 24 hours.
Read the full summary Show less
The bill requires that if a patient designates a caregiver, the hospital must promptly request written consent to release medical information to the patient's caregiver. If the patient or the patient's legal guardian declines to provide consent, the hospital is relieved of its notification and consultation obligations.
Under current law, patient medical records are kept confidential except in certain limited circumstances, including if a patient or a person authorized by the patient gives consent to the disclosure. Even without agreement, a health care provider may, in certain circumstances such as patient incapacitation, release a limited amount of information necessary to identify, locate, or provide notification of the patient's location, condition, or death. Beyond that, current law allows a health care provider to provide more information only to certain listed individuals.
Specifically, a health care provider may provide to the patient's immediate family, another relative, a close personal friend of the patient, or an individual identified by the patient, that portion of information from the health care record directly relevant to that individual's involvement in the patient's care. This bill adds designated caregivers to the list of individuals permitted access to information directly relevant to that individual's involvement in the patient's care.
Who's behind it
5 senators are its . 4 are Democrats and 1 is a Republican.
5 more lawmakers .
See all 10 names Hide the names
Authors (5)
- Tim Carpenter · Democrat, Senate
- Lena Taylor · Democrat, Senate
- Patty Schachtner · Democrat, Senate
- Patrick Testin · Republican, Senate
- Bob Wirch · Democrat, Senate
Signed on in support (5)
- Bob Kulp · Republican, Assembly
- Katrina Shankland · Democrat, Assembly
- Ken Skowronski · Republican, Assembly
- Shae Sortwell · Republican, Assembly
- Jeremy Thiesfeldt · Republican, Assembly
What happened
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Apr 1, 2020
The session ended, and the bill died with it.
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Oct 29, 2019
1 more representative signed on in support.
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Oct 18, 2019
Sent to the Senate Committee on Government Operations, Technology and Consumer Protection.
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Oct 18, 2019
Introduced in the Senate.
See the official record, word for word Hide the official record
- Oct 18, 2019 · Senate
Introduced by Senators Testin, Wirch, Carpenter, Schachtner and L. Taylor; cosponsored by Representatives Skowronski, Kulp, Sortwell and Thiesfeldt
- Oct 18, 2019 · Senate
Read first time and referred to Committee on Government Operations, Technology and Consumer Protection
- Oct 29, 2019 · Senate
Representative Shankland added as a cosponsor
- Apr 1, 2020 · Senate
Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1
Terms on this page
Committee
A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
Senate Joint Resolution 1
The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.
Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1. More in the glossary
Legislative Reference Bureau
The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.
Official term: LRB analysis. More in the glossary
Author
A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.
Official term: Author, coauthor. More in the glossary
Signed on in support
Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.
Official term: Cosponsor. More in the glossary
From the Wisconsin Legislature's official record, checked Sep 15, 2026. See the source
Committee
A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
Senate Joint Resolution 1
The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.
Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1
Legislative Reference Bureau
The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.
Official term: LRB analysis
Signed on in support
Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.
Official term: Cosponsor