DHS disputes report that Wisconsin is holding back on Medicaid work requirements

The Department of Health Services is disputing a Tuesday report from Politico that the state is delaying the process to receive approval for work requirements on some Medicaid recipients.

Wisconsin requested federal approval last year to put in place work requirements, drug screenings, health risk screenings and premiums for some childless adults in BadgerCare.

Politico reported Tuesday, citing federal officials familiar with discussions, that Gov. Scott Walker has been delaying the process out of fear the changes could hurt his re-election prospects.

“Wisconsin’s been stalling,” one official told Politico. They added that the Trump administration has been ready to announce the state’s work requirements for weeks.

DHS spokeswoman Julie Lund said the report is not accurate.

“We are aggressively pursuing approval of the waiver. We are not, in any way, attempting to delay the process,” she wrote in an email. “Anything short of that is false.”

The Politico report also noted that Trump’s administration plans to reject the state’s request to drug test some beneficiaries, although it’ll allow the state to ask about their illegal drug use.

“We are moving closer to approving even more state waivers,” a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services official said in an email to Wisconsin Health News Tuesday. “We are finalizing the terms of a few innovative community engagement demonstrations and we expect to have official announcements soon.”

This article first appeared in the Wisconsin Health News daily email newsletter. Sign up for your free trial here.