Month: April 2011

On Thursday, 36 white lab coats hung outside the main entrance of Children's Hospital of Wisconsin to raise awareness of the impact proposed federal funding cuts could have on health care programs for children. President Barack Obama has recommended elimination of the Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education program in fiscal year 2012. (MILWAUKEE BUSINESS JOURNAL, 4/29)

Gov. Scott Walker's proposal to privatize work determining who is eligible for food assistance in the state would violate federal law and could expose the state to a loss of more than $20 million in federal money, federal officials say. In an April 14 letter to state Health Services Secretary Dennis Smith and Children and Families Secretary Eloise Anderson, Ollice Holden, a Midwest administrator for the USDA's Food and Nutrition Service, warned that the work of interviewing applicants and deciding who is eligible for the Wisconsin FoodShare program needs to be done by public workers who are essentially civil servants. If not, he said, the state could lose some of the federal funds supporting FoodShare, the successor in Wisconsin to the food stamp program. (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 4/29)

In a decision that could transform the way nursing homes and law enforcement deal with vulnerable older adults who have dementia, the state Court of Appeals ruled that patients who have a diagnosis of only Alzheimer's disease cannot be involuntarily committed for treatment. "One way to measure the greatness of our society is to look at how we treat our weakest members, such as our growing population of people afflicted with Alzheimer's," the three-judge panel of the District II Court of Appeals in Waukesha wrote. (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 4/29)

An audit of the state Family Care program for frail elderly and disabled adults released Wednesday gives the program generally high marks, but warns of burgeoning costs and growing dissatisfaction by home care service providers over low payment rates. The report underscores the program's popularity, noting it grew from serving five counties in 2005 to 53 now, with spending rising more than 277% to last year's $936 million. The federal Medical Assistance program covers almost 70% of the costs; the state covers the rest. (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 4/28)

The secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services pledged to increase oversight in the massive Family Care program after an audit released Wednesday showed its cost-effectiveness was difficult to measure. The report by the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau praised the program for improving access to long-term care, but said its cost effectiveness is difficult to assess because the type and quality of services offered may be luring some people to enroll in the program who otherwise wouldn't seek public assistance. Walker proposes capping enrollment in the program at June 2011 levels and prohibiting DHS from further expanding it. (AP, 4/28)

A new state contract with an Atlanta-based company to arrange rides to medical care for Medicaid patients is raising concern among transportation providers and patient advocates. But some say the state Department of Health Services’ three-year contract with LogistiCare, to start July 1, could be more efficient than having counties and local agencies manage the rides as they do now. (WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL, 4/28)

School districts in southeastern Wisconsin pay significantly more for health insurance than do private businesses - as much as 76% more - and their employees bear much less of the overall cost, an analysis released Wednesday shows. But teachers' health insurance must be considered alongside salaries that are relatively low considering their levels of education, said Christina Brey, spokeswoman for the Wisconsin Education Association Council, the state's largest teachers union. (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 4/28)