State Budget - Health Care

Update: May 15, 2008

While not including the Senate’s “Healthy Wisconsin” proposal for a comprehensive, universal health insurance program funded through a payroll tax, the budget features the following health care items:

  • Maintain Wisconsin’s Medical Assistance Program without cuts in benefits, more stringent eligibility rules or higher recipient cost-sharing requirements.
  • Approval of the Governor’s statewide Family Care expansion initiative for seniors and people with disabilities who have long-term care needs.  For the past several years, Family Care has operated as a pilot program in nine Wisconsin Counties.  The Governor’s plan would expand the program statewide over the next five years.  Under this budget, the number of Family Care enrollees is expected to increase from 10,300 in February 2007 to approximately 27,200 by June 30, 2009.  In addition, the budget expands access to Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs), which provide information, counseling, and assessment services, and serve as the primary point of entry for accessing long-term care services.  The budget funds additional ADRCs so that the percentage of Wisconsin residents who can access these services increases from 40% to 75%.
  • Family Care advocacy—Provide funding for the Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS) to contract with an organization to provide ombudsman advocacy services to Family Care enrollees who are under age 60.  Also, the Board on Aging and Long Term Care will add one ombudsman position to advocate for persons in Family Care who are age 60 or older.
  • Approval of the Governor’s BadgerCare Plus initiative, which expands the comprehensive health care coverage to families with income up to 200% of poverty without premiums and provides a more limited plan to all children with sliding premiums based on income.  BadgerCare Plus begins on February 1, 2008.
  • Require DHFS to request a federal waiver to provide Medical Assistance to childless, non-disabled adults who have family incomes up to 200% of poverty.
  • Continues to provide state funding for private family planning health centers and Medicaid providers; preserves the Medicaid Family Planning Waiver program, and expands income eligibility slightly, to 200 % of the poverty level (but does not include the proposal to extend it to men).
  • A $1.00 increase in the per pack cigarette tax and a similar increase for other tobacco products.
  • A 1.5% increase in Medical Assistance reimbursement rates for personal care and home health services in the second budget year. 

May 2, 2007

Family Care Expansion: The Governor recommends increasing funding to expand the Family Care program beyond its current scope by increasing the number of aging and disability resource centers (ADRCs) and care management organizations (CMOs) in the state. The Governor proposes funding for additional ADRCs so that the percentage of state residents who have access would increase from 40% to 75% by the end of the biennium. Additional funding for CMOs is projected to increase FamilyCare enrollees from 10,300 to 27,200 over the two-year period.

Medicaid Expansion for Childless Adults: The Governor recommends expanding Medicaid coverage to childless adults who are otherwise ineligible for the program, as allowed by new federal laws and policies.

BadgerCare: The Governor recommends expanding the BadgerCare program to make coverage available to all Wisconsin children.

Health Care Trust Fund: The Governor recommends creating a health care quality trust fund with revenues from tobacco tax increases, hospital assessments, interest income from the permanent endowment fund and a one-time transfer of $175 million from the injured patients and families compensation fund. The health care quality trust fund will assist in funding a variety of health care quality improvement activities, including E-Health activities, hospital provider rate increases, noninstitutional provider rate increases, tobacco control activities, BadgerCare Plus expansion for childless adults and other Medicaid costs.

Cigarette and Tobacco Tax Increase: The Governor recommends increasing the tax on cigarettes by $1.25 per pack and increasing the tax on tobacco products by 40.6 percentage points to fund smoking cessation programs and health care initiatives.

Managed Care Pilots for Children’s Long-Term Care: The Governor recommends providing funding to support activities to develop managed long-term care pilot programs serving children with disabilities.

Community Aids: The Governor approved the DHFS recommendation to increase funding for community aids at $135,500 in each budget year. Essentially, Community Aids is receiving flat funding and will maintain the base 2006 level of funding.

Here are links to our budget pages:.