Medicaid Programs – Wisconsin, Utah

Private contractors play increasing role in Medicaid, audit finds, By Jason Stein, December 20, 2011, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “As the state’s health programs for the poor have ballooned in recent years, the state relied increasingly on private contractors to run its health programs for the poor and completed fewer investigations into potential fraud, a new audit has found. The report released Tuesday by the Legislative Audit Bureau found that as of June there were at least three times as many contract workers working on Medicaid health programs as there were state workers. Over the past four years, payments to private vendors for Medicaid have nearly doubled, the audit found…”
Utah’s budget debate: transportation and Medicaid, By Kirsten Stewart, December 19, 2011, Salt Lake Tribune: “Unveiling his budget for next year, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert last week bemoaned the growing share flowing to Medicaid. The health insurance program for low-income people consumes 17.6 percent of Utah’s budget, hurting the state’s ability to fund other priorities such as public schools, said Herbert, sounding a theme popular among conservatives. But advocates for the poor say the national strategy of pitting Medicaid against public schools doesn’t reflect reality in Utah. They point to another familiar budget boogeyman: transportation…”