Drop in Claims Helps Wisconsin Medicaid Program

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A reduction in per-enrollee health care costs should help Wisconsin Medicaid programs cut their projected budget shortfall to $232 million, from an estimate of $554 million made in September 2011, an Wisconsin official said in a letter released Tuesday.

State and federal agencies have been spending a total of about $7.5 billion per year on Wisconsin Medicaid programs. The programs provide coverage for 1.2 million of Wisconsin’s 5.7 million residents.

Many are hoping the state can use any Medicaid savings to re-open Family Care, a Medicaid community support program that tries to keep disabled people and elderly people who need long-term care (LTC) services out of nursing homes.

Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) Secretary Dennis Smith said in his letter about the latest budget shortfall projection, which was addressed to the co-chairs of the Wisconsin Legislature budget committee, that the Medicaid budget numbers have improved for a number of reasons, including lower-than-anticipated increases in people enrolling in the Medicaid programs, less costly Medicare Part B payments and an overall drop in costs per enrollee.

Wisconsin is still planning to move ahead with Medicaid program cuts that could result in about 65,000 poor adults and children losing coverage, Smith said.

Wisconsin lawmakers already have approved the cuts, but the state needs approvalfrom the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to implement them.