Month: October 2012

The system of managed care for the almost 300,000 children and adults covered by BadgerCare Plus in southeastern Wisconsin may be crumbling. At issue: At least three of the four organizations managing the BadgerCare Plus program in the region say they are losing money on it. (JOURNAL SENTINEL, 10/19)

LogistiCare, the state's medical transportation provider, now has enough staff to answer its phone calls quickly and enough providers to complete the rides it's supposed to, a company official assured complaining riders Thursday. Under fire from the public, officials from LogistiCare and the state Department of Health Services acknowledged at a state Senate committee hearing Thursday in Milwaukee that transportation services for Medicaid recipients have been insufficient but are improving. (JOURNAL SENTINEL, 10/19)

Faced with a barrage of complaints about long hold times on its reservation hotline, the state's medical transportation provider is working on a new online reservation system that would allow people to schedule rides in 30 seconds, according to a federal official. U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) sent a letter last month to the federal agency responsible for administering Medicaid and other programs to express her concerns about long rides and wait times for diabetics, and about the state's insufficient oversight of LogistiCare. (JOURNAL SENTINEL, 10/18)

A statewide pilot program aimed at getting more people to document their wishes for end-of-life medical care is modeled in part on a successful La Crosse program that has been touted as a national example. But the new initiative will exclude one key feature of the La Crosse plan, a bright yellow document that directs emergency caregivers - paramedics and emergency room doctors - to provide or withhold lifesaving treatment in accordance with a patient's wishes. (JOURNAL SENTINEL, 10/17)

Dr. Michael Fiore, founder of the UW Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention, has been elected to the Institute of Medicine. He's one of 70 new members and 10 foreign associates elected this year. (WHN, 10/16)