A Journal Sentinel article posted late Wednesday afternoon reports that Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services (DHS) “has declined to make or back applications for federal public health grants that could have totaled more than $9 million over the next five years.” Most of that total represents two grants for combating alcohol and drug abuse, which could have amounted to up to $8.6 million over 5 years.
In addition to the potential health care funding, the article by Jason Stein notes that DHS decided not to apply for a grant of about $9 million “to update the system for providing food assistance benefits to pregnant women, infants and children through the WIC program from a voucher coupon to an electronic debit card.”The article quotes Bevan Baker, the City of Milwaukee’s commissioner of health, who said, “I for the life of me cannot understand why at a time when there is a proliferation of illicit drugs and documentation of binge drinking and drunken driving in the state . . . Wisconsin would put its head in the virtual sand and not go after this funding.”
The DHS response is that it doesn’t pursue grants that duplicate existing efforts, aren’t needed, haven’t received enough planning, or might lead to ongoing programs that would later require state funding. The department’s Deputy Secretary, Kitty Rhoades, defended the decision not to back a grant for $1.6 million a year for five years to expand alcohol and drug screening by primary care health workers, with the goal of providing brief interventions and referrals to treatment for patients in need of it. According to the article, “Rhoades said the five-year substance abuse grant wasn’t needed because the state had already prepared to implement the screening and referral efforts to reach drug and alcohol abusers.”
Commissioner Baker took issue with that argument, noting that Wisconsin ranks high in statistics on drunken driving and binge drinking, and he questioned whether current efforts to remedy the problem are adequate. He pointed out that a March report (Investing in America’s Health) by the Trust for America’s Health found that Wisconsin ranked 47th or lower per capita among states for both federal and state spending on public health. (WI appears to be 47th in per capita federal funding for public health, and 49th in state support for public health.)
The current controversy follows one that surfaced in late June, when the Journal Sentinel reported that Secretary Smith had decided not to support applications by the city of Milwaukee, University Health Services in Madison and other groups who wanted to apply for about $30 million in federal grants to fight obesity and reduce chronic diseases such as diabetes. (Even when non-state entities can apply for federal grants, the relevant federal statutes often require them to line up the backing of state officials.) After taking a fair amount of criticism from legislators, community leaders, and the media (see Joel McNally’s article, Walker Administration Hazardous to Health), DHS reversed its position and signed on in support of the grant proposals. (See the follow-up article from the Journal Sentinel.)
Wednesday’s article also reports on the DHS decision in April not to provide a letter of support for ABC for Health, which is seeking the renewal of a two-year $380,000 federal grant to sign up people who qualify for BadgerCare Plus. ABC for Health also lost federal grant funding earlier in the year, when the state Insurance Commissioner, Ted Nickel, canceled a $238,000 contract with the Madison-based group. Nickel’s office has returned to the federal government the grant that was supporting the ABC contract, which had been awarded to Wisconsin as part of the funding provided to states under the Affordable Care Act to help consumers navigate the complexities of health insurance and file complaints and appeals. (Read more about that issue and ABC’s recently-filed lawsuit against the state on their website.)
Jon Peacock
