Health care could take hit in budget

The truest test of Gov. Scott Walker's promise to make "tough but compassionate decisions" to balance the state budget may be what he proposes for the programs that provide health insurance for roughly 1 million people in Wisconsin. The governor has not indicated how he plans to close a budget deficit estimated at more than $3 billion over the next two fiscal years. But no one expects BadgerCare Plus and Medicaid - the two state health programs for people impoverished or with limited incomes - to go unscathed. (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 1/31)