Catching up on some news from late last month, Wisconsin’s new Secretary of the Department of Health Services (DHS) testified at a January 26th hearing of the House Budget Committee, which is now chaired by Rep. Paul Ryan (R. WI). Smith, who served as the national Medicaid Director for nearly 8 years during the Bush administration, was...
On Thursday, February 3, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius sent a letter to state governors outlining “flexibility and federal support available for Medicaid.” The letter doesn’t respond directly to the contention of GOP governors that they should be allowed to reduce eligibility standards. Instead, Sebelius explains the broad flexibility...
Although lawmakers are facing a deficit in the upcoming biennium of well over $3 billion, many fiscal conservatives are intent on limiting the options for addressing Wisconsin’s budget challenges. Toward that end, the Governor recommended a Special Session bill that would require a two-thirds majority in each house of the Legislature to...
In his State of the State address last night, Governor Walker reiterated that he will introduce a budget adjustment bill to close a deficit in the current fiscal year (2010-11). That budget hole results in part from a shortfall in funding for Medicaid and BadgerCare Plus. (We outlined other factors in Monday’s Budget Project Blog post.)...
The federal government recently released the 2011 Federal Poverty Income Guidelines, better known as the "federal poverty level." Wisconsin uses the guidelines to determine eligibility for a number of public assistance programs, such as BadgerCare Plus and child care subsidies (Wisconsin Shares). See the new guidelines on the WCCF...
Sen. Glenn Grothman set off quite a bit of media coverage with his suggestion that the state stop funding 4-year-old Kindergarten (4K). A Jan. 16 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel fact-check piece on Sen. Grothman’s claims about 4K rendered a verdict of FALSE. And a Jan. 21 editorial by the Wisconsin State Journal on school reform also...
People often say that, in a democracy, decisions are made by a majority of the people. Of course, that is not true. Decisions are made by a majority of those who make themselves heard and who vote - a very different thing.~Walter H. Judd (MN Republican Congressman, 1943-1963) In the November election, 52 percent of eligible Wisconsin...
In response to input from advocates and others around the country, the SMART office (it’s an acronym for an office created following approval of the Adam Walsh Act!) had modified its guidelines to permit states discretion to exempt information concerning sex offenders required to register on the basis of juvenile delinquency...
The House of Representatives has scheduled a vote Wednesday to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the federal health care reform law passed last February. Although no one expects the House bill to be approved by the Senate or signed by the President, the vote this week marks the beginning of a new stage in the long assault on the...
Tonight (January 13) the A&E Network begins it’s broadcasting of a seven-part series titled “Beyond Scared Straight” – supposedly a look inside “new” Scared Straight programs – but, at least based on their initial promotional videos looks an awful lot like the old Scared Straight. The producer of the series apparently does not trust...
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