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.
The Work of Undocumented Immigrants Supports the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. So Why Are They Barred from Receiving Benefits?
Undocumented immigrants have played a part in depositing over a hundred million dollars in Wisconsin’s Unemployment Insurance trust fund over the past decade, yet the federal government excludes them from collecting unemployment benefits paid for from the fund. This...