Latest news with #BillHanna
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
FoodShare cuts would cost Wisconsin $314 million a year, state health department reports
Changes a U.S. House bill makes to the federal program known as FoodShare in Wisconsin would increase costs for the state, the state Department of Health Services (DHS) reports. (Getty Images Creative) Food and nutrition cuts in the reconciliation bill that passed the U.S. House early Thursday would cost Wisconsin taxpayers at least $314 million if they are signed into law, a state health official said Thursday. A requirement for the state to pick up some of the costs of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, a provision penalizing the state for errors in distributing benefits, expanded work requirements for recipients and the elimination of a nutrition education program will all contribute to that cost, said Bill Hanna, Medicaid director at the Department of Health Services (DHS) in a briefing for reporters Thursday afternoon. The SNAP program is known as FoodShare in Wisconsin and administered by DHS. SNAP currently includes a work requirement for adults ages 18 to 54 without children to receive benefits. The legislation would raise the upper age to 65 and add the requirement to adults with children who are 7 or older. Wisconsin has an employment and training program to help FoodShare recipients meet the existing work requirement. With the increase in people who would have to meet the requirement, 'We estimate that would cost another $44 million a year,' Hanna said. Currently the federal government funds 100% of the food benefits under SNAP. The new bill requires states to pick up a portion of the cost, which is tied to a state's error rate, Hanna said. Errors include the payment of more benefits than a person qualifies for or the payment of fewer benefits than they qualify for. 'When errors are identified, we correct them, meaning if there was an overpayment to a member, that is recouped on future benefits, or if there's an underpayment, we fix that and back pay those payments,' Hanna said. Wisconsin's error rate is low enough to require the state to submit only a 5% match for SNAP funds under the House Republican proposal, he said. But another change — which would allow zero tolerance even for errors that in the past have not counted against state programs — would boost the state's required match to 15%. DHS estimates based on the proposed new requirements the state would have to pay about $207 million a year in benefit costs, he said. If the state is able to reduce its error rate to qualify for the 5% match, it would still need to pay $69 million a year. A higher state share of administrative costs in the bill would add $51 million to the state's costs for SNAP, Hanna said. The state would also lose the $12 million it receives for SNAP-Ed, a program that provides education to SNAP participants on healthier food choices. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Health department report says Medicaid cuts would harm patients, increase health costs
Getty Images Major cuts to Medicaid under discussion in Congress would harm patients, the health care system and the economy in Wisconsin, the state health department said in a report Monday, likely increasing health care costs in the long run rather than saving money. Depending on what route the federal budget takes to reduce spending on the program, it could cost the state up to $16.8 billion over 10 years, according to the report from the Department of Health Services (DHS). Medicaid — jointly funded by the federal and state governments — provides health care coverage for low-income Wisconsinites as well as long-term care for elderly people and people with disabilities. GOP leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives are looking for ways to cut $880 billion from programs under the supervision of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The budget plan hasn't taken formal shape. Because Medicaid is the single largest program in the committee's budget portfolio, however, 'substantial impacts to Medicaid and other health programs are unavoidable,' the report states. In Wisconsin Medicaid covers about 1 million Wisconsin residents up to the age of 65 for primary health care through BadgerCare Plus. It also covers long-term care for people with disabilities and the elderly under a variety of different programs. Medicaid covers 20% of state residents and 40% of births, along with 38% of Wisconsin children and 60% of state residents in nursing homes. 'Medicaid is an important part of our health care infrastructure,' said Wisconsin Medicaid Director Bill Hanna at a DHS press conference Monday. One possibility the report considers is a cap on federal coverage for each Medicaid patient. Currently the federal share is 60% of the health care costs incurred by Wisconsin Medicaid recipients, with the state paying the remaining 40%. 'This arrangement allows state budgets to cope with unforeseen circumstances, such as economic downturns or faster-than-expected medical cost growth,' the DHS report states. The report states that a per-person ceiling on Medicaid costs, which Congress is reportedly considering, 'would squeeze state budgets and put Wisconsin taxpayers on the hook if medical costs rise quickly, with cuts to benefits and cuts to provider payments.' Hanna said that there remains 'a lot of unknowns' in how Congress might structure a payment system with a ceiling. The report considers various scenarios under a cap, including low, medium and high increases in health care costs. Over 10 years, Wisconsin could lose anywhere from $6.4 billion to $16.8 billion, DHS projects. Other Congressional proposals include adding higher barriers to Medicaid coverage — primarily through a work requirement. Work requirements have long been found to eliminate eligible people from Medicaid because of the additional burden to demonstrate that they are eligible. 'Adding an additional burden for this population will certainly result in fewer people making it through, even if they are working, just struggling with the paperwork pieces,' Hanna said. According to the report, Wisconsin Medicaid enrolled about 191,000 childless adults per month in late 2024. Nearly half of them would be exempt from a work requirement. 'It is unknown how many people would lose coverage simply because it would be difficult to report their hours or wages,' the report states. It calculates that about 52,000 people 'would be at the highest risk for losing eligibility.' Reducing the Medicaid rolls through a work requirement, however, will carry other costs, the report argues. 'It's not like these people disappear,' Hanna said. 'They still need care that now they just won't have the insurance [to cover]. Meaning hospitals again will be picking up additional costs, which gets passed on to all health care consumers.' A third approach Congress is said to be considering would reduce the federal government's share of the cost to run Medicaid programs. That could cost Wisconsin up to $93 million, the report finds. While congressional leaders have pointed to data on 'improper payments' in Medicaid in defense of cuts and say they're targeting 'waste, fraud and abuse,' Hanna said members of Congress are conflating two sharply different issues. 'Improper payments are not fraud, waste and abuse,' Hanna said. 'Improper payments are often documentation errors that can be for any number of reasons.' Wisconsin's last Medicaid audit — required every three years — found an improper payment rate of 0.5%, which was due to clerical errors. 'In Wisconsin, you're definitely not going to find significant savings' in the form of ineligible people getting covered, he said. 'We have a very robust system in Wisconsin with very few errors.' Facing substantial federal reductions, the state has four policy options, Hanna said: putting in more state funds to keep the program the same; restricting eligibility, so there are fewer Wisconsinites covered; cutting some services that Medicaid now pays for; or cutting what Medicaid pays to doctors, hospitals and other providers. If the state pays more, then it will have to raise taxes or divert funds from other priorities. But each of the alternatives has other consequences, Hanna said. Cutting provider rates 'would have major impacts on our state's health care system,' the DHS report states, with hospitals offsetting those by charging other payers more. If fewer people are eligible for Medicaid, the rate of uninsured people in Wisconsin will increase, potentially driving up health care costs as well. 'Uninsured rates going up means more uncompensated care' for hospitals and other health care providers, Hanna said. Reducing the services that Medicaid covers, however, would likely mean that people put off getting health care until an illness or condition gets worse, he said — 'which ultimately means we end up spending more.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Medicaid cuts could impact Wisconsin's health care system, economy
The Brief Anticipated federal budget cuts to Medicaid could impact Wisconsin. About 20% of people in Wisconsin are covered by Medicaid, and the federal government covers a percentage of the costs. If the cuts happen, Wisconsin would have to find a way to front more of those costs, or restrict eligibility. MILWAUKEE - Wisconsin's Medicaid director is warning that anticipated cuts to the federal budget could put Wisconsin's health care system and economy at risk. In Wisconsin, about 20% of people are covered by Medicaid. Right now, federal dollars cover a percentage of Medicaid costs and the state covers the rest. FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android One proposal before Congress limits federal funds to a set dollar amount per person, which DHS says could cost the state billions of dollars. Another possibility is a work requirement for able-bodied adults without children. "It's not like these people disappear. They still need care now they just won't have the insurance, meaning hospitals again will be picking up additional costs which gets passed onto all healthcare consumers," said Wisconsin Medicaid Director Bill Hanna. If substantial federal dollars are lost, the state may need to find the money by raising taxes or cutting other budget items. Wisconsin could also change its Medicaid eligibility or cover fewer services. The Source FOX6 produced this story with interviews with the Wisconsin Medicaid director.
