Wisconsin medical programs are facing budget shortfalls which could potentially take away health insurance for 30,000 children.
The Legislative Fiscal Bureau released a report Thursday that estimates a $141 million shortfall in the budget for Wisconsin Medical Assistance Programs.
Stephanie Smiley, Department of Health Services spokesperson, said this estimate is an accurate reflection of the status of the Medicaid program.
“The Medicaid budget is improving, which may reflect an improvement in the economy and improvements made to the administration of the program,” Smiley said in a statement.
The effort to balance the Medicaid budget is already underway. DHS has already implemented Medicaid savings, and many other Medicaid saving programs are pending the approval of the federal government, Smiley said in the statement.
Three of the programs still seeking approval were outlined in the LFB report, which proposes changes to various aspects of the medical assistance program.
One of these proposals makes changes to the BadgerCare Plus program, particularly with respect to the coverage of children.
According to the report, if the changes are approved by the federal government, around 29,100 children would no longer be enrolled in the program. The lack of coverage would stem from either new ineligibility or forced dropped enrollment because of high premiums proposed under the waiver request.
Changes to the BadgerCare Plus waiver agreement, federal law and policies of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services would save the Wisconsin government $94 million in medical assistance program spending.
For Rep. Jon Richards, D-Milwaukee, the cost of this proposal outweighs its benefits. Richards said the budget deficit is a significant one that needs to be closed.
Still, he stressed the importance of cutting costs without cutting patients from BadgerCare plans.
“About 40 percent of BadgerCare recipients are children,” Richards said. “The result of reducing the budget for BadgerCare is children being removed from the medical assistance program.”
Richards said the process of changing the Wisconsin Medical Assistance Program goes beyond the power of the state. He said much of the medical assistance program is governed and approved by the federal government.
Richards said the federal government in the past has held the line on ensuring medical care for children.
The report also explains the proposals must still receive approval before the program can be changed.
One of the other two changes planned by DHS would reduce costs of Family Care and service changes for the elderly, blind and disabled populations that would reduce costs by $71.9 million, the report said.
The final proposal would be changing DHS administrative procedures and would not need approval by the Legislature, the report said.
“We agree with the LFB memo in that our work is not done,” Smiley said in the statement. “We will need to continue to work with the federal government to find ways to improve the program, make it sustainable and ensure the program remains on budget.”
Smiley said DHS is confident it will balance the Medicaid budget.
