When we give thanks on Thursday, let’s remember that there are many public programs providing critically important assistance to people who aren’t as fortunate. Among them are a number of government programs that are working as intended to keep low-wage Americans and unemployed workers out of poverty. Unfortunately, some of those...
Earlier this month the Census Bureau released a new way of measuring poverty: the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM). This measure revealed higher rates of poverty nationally for most groups, but a lower rate for children. The Census Bureau also released an analysis of those with incomes slightly above the poverty line which illustrates...
The US Census Bureau released a report late last week regarding the number and percentage of households in each state who received food stamps in 2009 and 2010. Wisconsin’s participation rate of 11.0 percent last year was well below the national rate of 11.9 percent. However, Wisconsin has been rapidly gaining ground on the national...
An editorial in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Sunday urges federal officials to deny Wisconsin’s current request for a “maintenance of effort” waiver that would result in more than 64,000 people losing their BadgerCare coverage:We urge the federal Department of Health and Human Services to hold off on that waiver until the state does...
Case might pivot on studies relating to state costs and savings Is it unconstitutional for Congress to enact a law expanding Medicaid coverage to everyone below 133% of the federal poverty level? About half the states (via their Attorneys General or Governors) contend that making them participate in a large expansion of Medicaid, which...
We’ve reported a couple of times this fall on a bill that would have put several important health care consumer protections from the Affordable Care Act (ACA) into state law. The bill, AB 210, has had strong backing from the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) and from insurance companies who have been worried about potential...
As we’ve been sharing on this blog, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) recently submitted a proposal for federal approval that will result in tens of thousands of working Wisconsinites losing BadgerCare and Medicaid coverage. Despite attempts from the public and advocacy groups to call on DHS for a transparent process and...
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) recently submitted a request to federal officials for approval to make sweeping changes in the BadgerCare program. Most of those changes conflict with provisions in the federal health care reform law requiring states to maintain current standards relating to eligibility and enrollment. ...
The Joint Finance Committee met today to consider the Department of Health Services plan to cut the state’s Medicaid spending by making changes to BadgerCare that will result in tens of thousands of Wisconsin families becoming uninsured. The DHS plan was approved on a party-line vote of 11 to 4, with one of the Republican committee...
The Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee (JFC) will meet this Thursday (Nov. 10) to consider the proposals by the Department of Health Services (DHS) to make dramatic changes to the BadgerCare Program. Although the JFC is not taking public testimony, Democrats are hosting a public hearing in the Capitol Thursday at about the same time...
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