What a great discussion about the State Budget Proposal on the Coffee BreakTuesdaymorning! Special thanks to Lynn Breedlove, board president forInControlWisconsin,for joining us as our special guest! There were several points discussed. Some of them include:
The Joint Finance Committee hasbegunvoting on parts of the budget. Theyll likely get to Long-Term Care(LTC)sometime this month. It appears they dislike the budget proposal, but its unclearwhat they will do instead. The co-chairs of the committee, Senator Darling andRepresentativeNygrensaid that theymaysend LTCback tothe Wisconsin Dept. of Health Services (DHS)to rework it.
Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs)appear to be well-positioned tobe saved.Fiftycounties have formallyopposed the changes to the ADRCs.
The IRIS grassroots advocates have done a good jobadvocating. Its not for sure, buttheres a good chance that IRIS will stay a separate program.
Lynn pointed out that its now known which insurance companies want to take over Long-Term Care. They are United, Anthem, and Molina. None of them are based in Wisconsin.
Two educational briefings on Long-Term Care were held for legislators and staff. Bothwere well attended by all parties.Legislators and staff who knew very littleabout LTC learned a lot and asked a lot of good questions.
This budget proposal came as a surprise to all of us.We took Family Care and IRIS for granted and thought they were safe. Unfortunately, we didnt educate the new legislators about them until now. A lotmore peopleat the Capitolnowknow what IRIS is and understand its different than managed care. Personal stories are making people understandwhyIRIS is important.
DHS continues to say Long-Term Care is eating up the Medicaid budget, but this is not true. In fact, it has actually saved a lot of money.
Itsnot too late to contact members of the Joint Finance Committee and yourlocallegislators. Several of them are still unsure what to vote for.
Some resources mentioned in the Coffee Break include:
Wisconsin State Budget Briefing: Watcha webinar with John Shaw, BPDD, and Lisa Pugh, DRW, on how the 2015-2017 WI state budget impacts people with disabilities.
Wisconsin's Long-term Care Coalition: Resources regarding the long-term care system and what you can do about the proposed Wisconsin Budget.
Contact your state legislatorand share your story.
ContactLynn Breedlove
Share your questions, as well as your resources, information, experiences, and ideas about the budget proposal in this discussion.
updated by @sd-network: 02/23/16 04:43:48PM
