February 21st, 2004 - Wisconsin Long-Term Care in the News

Medicaid shortfall soars: Budget gap approaches $1B (Feb. 21, 2004)
Wisconsin is facing a $401 million shortfall in medical assistance programs that could punch a $962 million hole in its 2003-05 Medicaid budget, according to a new report.
<http://www.madison.com/captimes/news/stories/68585.php>

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Governor, lawmakers spar over debt restructuring (Feb. 21, 2004)
Health funding gap could be closed, Doyle says
The state Capitol impasse continued Friday over whether to grab $175 million in payments on long-term debt scheduled to be made in each of the next two years and use the money instead to pay higher health-care costs.
<http://www.jsonline.com/news/state/feb04/209146.asp>

GM Today: Republicans criticize Doyle plan to cover MA shortfall (Feb. 21, 2004)
The governor’s plan to cover a shortfall in medical assistance programs that serve the elderly and poor by refinancing state debt would cost taxpayers an additional $86 million in interest, according to a report released Friday. That prompted Assembly Speaker John Gard, R-Peshtigo, to demand that the governor come up with a better plan than what he called a ‘‘scam on taxpayers.’’
<http://www.gmtoday.com/news/politics/state/topstory038.asp>

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Nursing homes ask Wisconsin Legislature for regulatory changes (Feb. 20, 2004)
Nursing home representatives want the state to end the regulatory practice of fining them if federal officials cite them for the same violations. Nursing home operators told legislators Thursday the current system of duplicate fines and citations for the same violations amounts to "double jeopardy." Advocates for nursing home residents and home workers, though, oppose the measure.
<http://www.jsonline.com/news/state/feb04/208917.asp>

Wisconsin State Journal: State's Medical Assistance debt at center of fray (Feb. 20, 2004)
Assembly Republicans refused Thursday to schedule a vote next week on a Democratic proposal to restructure the state's debt to keep Wisconsin's Medical Assistance program solvent. "I am not going to vote for a bill that's only response to Medicaid (cost overruns) is to not pay debt. That's sticking it to taxpayers to the tune of more than a hundred million dollars," said Assembly Speaker John Gard, R-Peshtigo, citing the potential extra cost to the state of putting off debt payments.
<http://www.madison.com/wisconsinstatejournal/local/68470.php>

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Editorial: State Medicaid Nightmare (Feb. 16, 2004)
Republicans and Democrats in Madison are caught up in another tug of war. While there's nothing particularly newsworthy about that, this fight has grave consequences for health care programs in Wisconsin, which face a $400 million shortfall.
<http://www.jsonline.com/news/editorials/feb04/207958.asp>

Capital Times: Gard's logrolling sign of our times (Feb. 16, 2004)
There's a state law that makes it illegal for legislators to "logroll," that is, trade a vote on one issue to get someone's vote on another. Otherwise, he wouldn't be telling reporters that his Republican majority in the Assembly would yield on allowing Gov. Jim Doyle to restructure the state's bond debt to cover unexpected Medicaid costs if only Doyle would give in and allow the Legislature to once again have oversight over land purchases through the state's Stewardship program.
<http://www.madison.com/captimes/opinion/column/zweifel/68171.php>