- Medicaid faces major cuts, By Patrick Marley and Guy Boulton, December 15, 2009, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “The state may be forced to cut more than $1 billion over the next 18 months from BadgerCare Plus and other health care programs for the disabled, elderly and low-income families. The shortfall comes at a time when more people are turning to BadgerCare Plus because of the state’s battered economy. About 700,000 people were enrolled in BadgerCare Plus alone on Nov. 30, an increase of more than 70,000 since the start of the year. At the same time, state tax revenues have plummeted because of the economic downturn. Since April, the Department of Health Services has been working on a plan to find an estimated $608 million over two years from an array of cost-saving moves, including rewriting contracts, increasing the use of generic drugs, reducing hospital and pharmacy reimbursements and delaying payments…”
- State health programs for the poor face new budget crisis, By Jason Stein, December 15, 2009, Wisconsin State Journal: “A flood of newly impoverished participants in state health programs for the poor could send those initiatives as much as $150 million into the red, a legislative report found. The projections raise fresh questions about how long the cash-strapped state can afford expanded health programs for struggling Wisconsin residents at a time of unprecedented economic crisis. To keep the programs running, state officials said they would consider tough choices including putting new rules on participants and cutting payments to the clinics and hospitals that care for them…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty