Back in October 2011, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) estimated that the state was facing a shortfall in the budget for Medicaid and BadgerCare of about $550 million during the 2011-13 biennium: almost $220 million in state General Purpose Revenue (GPR) and $330 million of matching federal funds. Since then, the size of the projected deficit has fallen by more than 60 percent, without accounting for the newer cost-saving measures. This short paper provides a summary of the evolving deficit estimate and offers several options for closing that shortfall.

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