Little known and much overlooked in our call to solidarity with Wisconsin public employees is a provision buried in the bill that lays the foundation for gutting Medicaid in the state.
From the Cap Times last Monday:
Over the weekend, public health advocates started raising the alarm, and this afternoon the non-partisan agency in charge of analyzing the controversial bill sent a memo to Democratic Rep. Peter Barca that would seem to confirm complaints that the Medicaid provision, buried deep in the budget-repair bill, would give the Walker administration unprecedented power to revamp the state's BadgerCare programs without following the legislative processes, public vetting, and even state laws normally required.
The memo from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, a response to Barca's request for a list of non-budget items that Walker has folded into the budget-repair bill, some with far-reaching policy repercussions, focuses on the Medicaid clause as an item "that should be noted" because "while the provision may result in significant savings in the future...it would remove the entire Legislature from determining substantial elements of the medical assistance program."
The provision "could potentially give broad authority to the Department of Health Services, with approval of the Joint Committee on Finance, to signficantly modify the medical assistance program and supersede most statutory provisions regarding the program," LFB director Bob Lang writes in the memo.
As the Wisconsin State Journal notes
At least 50,000 people could lose Medicaid coverage, and many others could face increased fees, reduced benefits or other hurdles.
The state health department, under "emergency rules," could make it harder to enroll, eliminate services such as physical and speech therapy, optical and dental coverage, prescription drugs, and birth control services, and ration care - all without legislative approval.
The Cap Times reports that a new coalition of more than 30 organizations is trying to increase awareness of these dangerous health care provisions in the bill
A new coalition of more than thirty different groups representing some of the 1.2 million Wisconsin residents in Medicaid funded programs is holding a media event Sunday to try to raise awareness of provisions in Gov. Scott Walker's budget repair bill that could drastically revamp and even gut the state's public health programs.
The Medicaid Matters Alliance has joined with the Save BadgerCare Coalition, another coalition formed a couple of months ago to try to advocate for programs like BadgerCare, Family Care, and SeniorCare, to hold a press conference at 1 p.m. at the Madison Senior Center, 330 W. Mifflin. It will be open to the public.
Supporting our union brothers and sisters is crucial, but so is bringing the medicaid issue to light. Please help spread the word.
You can find more information about taking action at the Save BadgerCare Coalition website.
And for your viewing pleasure: