Latest news with #DepartmentofHealthServices
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
14-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cuts to Family Care funds in state budget may mean fewer assisted living options
Unless the Wisconsin State Legislature acts to maintain funding levels of Wisconsin's Medicaid Family Care program, it's very possible the growing number of seniors in need of long-term care services like assisted living will find fewer options in their communities. Family Care is a long-term care program for older adults and adults with disabilities. Part of the program's funding is designated for assisted living facilities to help enhance caregiver wages. Without maintaining current funding levels, assisted living facilities will not be able to provide competitive wages for caregivers. In turn, that will lead to understaffed facilities and operators faced with a choice of either closing their doors or leaving the Family Care program altogether. Thankfully, there have been efforts by members of the legislature and Gov. Tony Evers to address these issues in the past, but additional attention is needed. In 2017, lawmakers created the Direct Care Workforce Funding Initiative, which provides a funding mechanism directly to caregivers to help address workforce challenges in the state. Funding through this initiative is distributed to assisted living facilities by third-party Managed Care Organizations that use industry metrics to determine funding allocations to individual facilities and ultimately to caregivers. This funding has been a lifeline to help recruit and retain caregivers during a workforce crisis. Opinion: Changes to Social Security would cost average Wisconsin resident $7,000 a year In addition, last October the Department of Health Services established a minimum fee schedule that created 'minimum rates' for assisted living facilities. This program is crucial as it also increased the average wage assumptions in the Family Care program from $13.02 per hour to $15.75 per hour. While this does not recognize the true labor market trends of caregiver starting wages, $17.75 per hour, it is a step in the right direction. We're fortunate that our state leaders have been responsive in the past to investing in programs supportive of addressing the workforce challenges affecting Wisconsin's long-term health care system. We need them to be responsive again with the next biennial budget. That's why we're requesting that current funding levels are maintained in the upcoming budget. Those funding levels include $202.7 million in state general purpose revenue over the next biennium for the 'minimum fee schedule.' It is also imperative to maintain current funding of the Direct Care Workforce Funding Initiative — $115 million in state general purpose revenue over the next biennium. Opinion: Federal government spends millions on libraries. Executive order ends that. A decrease in funding means a decrease in wages for caregivers along with rate decreases for facilities, something our industry and the state as a whole cannot afford. In order to effectively staff the anticipated increase in caregiving needs and for assisted living facilities to obtain adequate reimbursement that reflects economic realities and the true cost of care, the Family Care program needs to provide adequate reimbursement. ➤Want to contact your state legislator? Here's where you can find your representatives. Michael Pochowski is president and CEO of the Wisconsin Assisted Living Association. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin budget must maintain funds for assisted living | Opinion
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Wisconsin lawmakers renew effort to extend Medicaid coverage for new moms at risk of postpartum complications
Wisconsin is one of only two states that does not offer a full year of Medicaid coverage to certain low-income mothers after they give birth, a distinction that a group of GOP state lawmakers again is seeking to change, despite opposition from a key Republican leader. Most of the state's lawmakers have again signed on to a bill authored by Republicans that would allow low-income mothers who make more than the poverty level to stay on BadgerCare Plus, the state's largest Medicaid program, for a full year after giving birth, instead of only two months. The only other state that does not offer a full year of coverage is Arkansas, according to the KFF, a health policy research group. For months after giving birth, women are still at risk for a range of life-threatening, post-pregnancy complications, including heart conditions, clotting disorders, postpartum depression and more. Statewide, a third of the 63 pregnancy-related deaths in the three years from 2020 to 2022 occurred more than two months after giving birth, said Arielle Exner, legislative director at the state's Department of Health Services. In addition, women with high blood pressure or other conditions who lose health coverage midway through the postpartum period could see their conditions worsen to the point they become chronic or threaten their long-term health, supporters said during a Wednesday hearing on the bill before the state Senate Committee on Health. In the last few years, most states without a year-long coverage period for postpartum women have approved it, making it part of their Medicaid programs. In red-leaning states, Republicans promoted the extension of coverage as a central part of their pro-life agenda, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling to overturn the constitutional right to abortion. "We as a state are unfortunately behind on this issue," said state Sen. Jesse James, R-Thorp, an author of the Wisconsin bill, at Wednesday's hearing. "We have a chance to do better for our moms, our kiddos and our families as a whole." In Wisconsin, similar bills have been introduced in the last two legislative sessions, only to stall in one or both chambers. Last session, a state Senate bill to extend coverage passed by a 32-1 vote, but the bill never made it to a floor vote in the Assembly, even though a majority of the Assembly had signed onto the bill as co-sponsors. At the time, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, opposed the bill, saying during a Q&A in 2023 'we give away too much free stuff' and that after pregnancy, women could sign up for a private health plan on the marketplaces set up through the Affordable Care Act. 'We want to encourage people to leave the public sector and enter the private marketplace as quickly as we can, not keep them on Medicaid even longer than they already are,' he said at the time. Pregnant women whose household income is three times the poverty level or less qualify for BadgerCare Plus during pregnancy and for about two months after. Currently, only mothers who make as much as the poverty level or less qualify to stay on BadgerCare Plus beyond that second month. Donna Rozar, a former state representative and an author of last session's legislation to extend coverage, said new mothers shouldn't have to worry about health coverage. 'If you have a two-month-old baby, the last thing you want to do is change insurance programs,' she said at Wednesday's hearing on this session's bill. Supporters of the bill stressed that having to switch health insurance soon after birth could lead to a break in coverage when patients are between plans or to disruptions in care if patients have to switch doctors. For women going through mental health challenges, such as postpartum depression, on top of it all, it can be even tougher. 'It is hard to access health care. It's even harder to access mental health care,' said Kathleen Hipke, a licensed clinical psychologist who spoke at Wednesday's hearing. 'Trying to find new health care providers, navigate wait times – by the time these things happen, we've already exceeded the 60-day period.' Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, has included an extension of postpartum Medicaid coverage in previous biennial budget proposals, only for Republican lawmakers writing the state budget to remove the year-long extension from consideration. Asked at a news conference last month whether a bill to extend postpartum coverage would get a vote in the Assembly this year, Vos said he thought it 'unlikely.' 'Our caucus has taken a position that expanding welfare is not a wise idea for anyone involved,' Vos said. But many Republicans in the state Assembly and the Senate, in fact, are co-sponsors of the bill. Like in previous legislative sessions, the bill was authored by Republicans, among them Rep. Patrick Snyder, R-Weston, who was standing behind Vos when he made those comments last month. At Wednesday's hearing, Snyder said he hoped Wisconsin passed the legislation before Arkansas, the only other state without the extension. 'It's the right thing to do,' Snyder said. 'The bill is not partisan in my mind. … I'm into helping people, my constituents, and if we can't get something like this done, then I don't know what I'm doing in the Legislature.' If the bill passes, it would mean about 5,000 more women per month would be covered by BadgerCare Plus, Exner, the DHS legislative director, said. The annual cost of implementing the extension would be about $18.5 million in state and federal funds. Of that total, about $7.3 million would come from the state, she said. About one in three births in Wisconsin were covered by BadgerCare Plus or another Medicaid program in 2023, Exner said. On Wednesday, longtime supporters of the legislation, including medical professionals with the Wisconsin chapter of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, reiterated that the bill would likely save lives. Amy Domeyer-Klenske, an OB-GYN in Madison who spoke on behalf of ACOG, recounted a patient who suffered worsening high blood pressure and a life-threatening blood clot after delivery and who required blood thinners and frequent adjustments to her medication that were necessary beyond two months postpartum. "When we see women who lose their coverage who are newly requiring these medications, we worry as physicians about what will happen to them, their risk for things like heart disease, stroke and death in the upcoming year and beyond," she said. "We are failing to cover mothers like this across Wisconsin." This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin lawmakers renew effort to extend Medicaid coverage for moms
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Wisconsin receives $28 billion in federal aid annually. Where does it go?
Under President Donald Trump's freeze of federal grants and loans, the billions of dollars that the Wisconsin government receives each year would be in jeopardy. On Tuesday morning, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers called on Trump to halt the freeze, saying Wisconsinites "are rightfully alarmed and concerned by this unprecedented decision." By Tuesday evening, a federal judge had temporarily blocked the order until at least Feb. 3. Here's how much federal aid the Wisconsin government receives and where it goes. More: Tony Evers asks Trump to delay federal freeze as move sends Wisconsin government scrambling Wisconsin's state government receives $28 billion in federal assistance annually. More than $17 billion, or 61%, of the federal aid the Wisconsin government receives goes to the state's Department of Health Services. The health department spends most of that amount on Medicaid programs, according to the state Legislature's nonpartisan fiscal bureau. The remaining $11 billion is spent on the state Department of Transportation, the University of Wisconsin system, and services for low-income families and programs for public schools. Find more information here on how those individual programs may be impacted by the freeze. Though the Trump administration initially said the freeze would not affect Medicare and Social Security programs, Medicaid portals were down in all 50 states as of Tuesday afternoon, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden wrote on X. Wisconsin officials were also locked out of software portals that manage funding for the state's Medicaid programs, the Journal Sentinel reported. As of 1:57 p.m. Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X that the administration is aware of the outage, but "no payments have been affected." The portal "will be back online shortly," she added. More than 1 million Wisconsin residents are enrolled in Medicaid programs. Tom Daykin, Alison Dirr, Kelly Meyerhofer and Molly Beck contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Federal aid freeze: How does Wisconsin government use federal funds?
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tony Evers asks Trump to delay federal freeze as move sends Wisconsin government scrambling
MADISON - Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers is asking President Donald Trump to delay the implementation of a freeze on federal assistance, arguing Wisconsinites "are rightfully alarmed and concerned by this unprecedented decision" and are left scrambling. Trump's order freezing federal grants sent shockwaves through Wisconsin government on Tuesday as officials sought to understand how the move could impact agencies and infrastructure projects across the state. Evers in a letter sent to Trump on Tuesday seeking more guidance about which programs in the state would be affected and pleaded for a delay. "According to the memo, beginning at 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday, January 28, the Trump Administration will begin indefinitely withholding federal tax dollars from Wisconsin that were already approved bythe U.S. Congress, leaving billions sitting in Washington, D.C. that help kids, families, and businesses in Wisconsin and across America every day," Evers wrote. "With very few details and specifics available, virtually no time for ample review and consideration, and no direct communication to date, states are left to plan for the worst, and Wisconsinites and millions of Americans who are rightfully alarmed and concerned by this unprecedented decision are left scrambling." A spokeswoman for Trump did not immediately have a reaction to Evers' letter. Wisconsin's state government receives $28 billion in federal assistance, 61% of which is routed to the Department of Health Services where the bulk is spent on Medicaid programs, according to the state Legislature's nonpartisan fiscal bureau. The rest is spent largely on services for low-income families and programs for public schools, the University of Wisconsin System and the state Department of Transportation. Evers is planning to release a two-year state budget plan on Feb. 18. The new directive from the Trump administration could push Evers officials to rewrite their spending plan but a spokeswoman did not know how the order could affect their work as of Monday. Schools in Wisconsin could see a big hit to their programs depending on how the freeze is carried out, according to a spokesman for the state Department of Public Instruction, which distributes federal aid to school districts. DPI spokesman Chris Bucher said areas like special education, school nutrition, programs that support low-income students and technology could be affected. 'We are currently working to understand the full impact of this directive on our students, educators, and school programs across the state. Federal grants and funding are essential to giving Wisconsin students the support they need to succeed," DPI state superintendent Jill Underly said in a statement. The broad order from the White House led to confusion Tuesday in both Washington and Wisconsin, as state officials and agencies sought to identify programs that could be impacted. A spokesman for Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said the memo 'has raised very serious concerns' for the mayor. He noted agencies from police and fire to health and housing rely on federal funding and said Johnson was working 'to fully analyze the implications.' In Washington on Tuesday, scores of members of Congress, including Wisconsin Democratic Reps. Mark Pocan and Gwen Moore, sent a letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Matthew Vaeth requesting an itemized list of programs and projects put on hold because of the order. The members said the White House memo 'provides only a series of broad, subjective policy objectives, rather than detailed guidelines specifying which projects ought to be frozen.' Agencies will submit a list of programs potentially affected by Feb. 10. 'Trump's unprecedented decision to suspend ALL federal grants, loans, & other financial aid will have a devastating impact on EVERY community across the country,' Pocan wrote on X. Moore, who represents the Milwaukee area, questioned the constitutionality of Trump's decision, noting that the Constitution gives Congress the power to appropriate funding, not the president. "If MAGA goes through with this unconstitutional move straight out of the Project 2025 playbook, this will have sweeping consequences," Moore said. Programs like Head Start, a federally funded after-school program for children from low-income families, could be affected by the freeze. "As a Head Start parent, I know how important funding child care programs for low income families is," Moore said. "Losing that access would force poor parents out of the workforce." Tom Tiffany, a Republican who represents the 7th Congressional District and is mulling a run for governor, signaled he supported the move. "President Trump pledged to bring greater accountability on how taxpayer dollars are being spent, and he is delivering on that promise. The temporary funding pause allows his administration to review spending, ensuring funds are directed toward initiatives that benefit the American people," Tiffany said. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tony Evers asks Trump to delay federal freeze as move sends shockwaves
