New report puts Wisconsin Medicaid shortfall at $141M

2:13 PM, Jan. 31, 2012 

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MADISON — A new report by Wisconsin’s nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau says the state’s Medicaid programs face a $141 million budget shortfall by July 2013.
Gov. Scott Walker’s Department of Health Services has proposed a number of changes to save $241 million and more than plug the shortfall, including cutting $93 million in BadgerCare Plus, a program that provides medical care to poor families and adults.
If approved by the federal government, DHS projects the changes will result in about 29,100 children no longer being in the program. DHS also wants to save $27.4 million by improving the dispensing of medicine to elderly people in the Family Care program.
The department is also proposing about $75 million in cuts to various Medicaid programs to improve efficiency.