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“I never thought I’d be disabled,” the man at the parade told
me. “I was a diesel truck driver. But a split second accident and 37
surgeries later here I am.”
An axle crushed his leg.
Last week I met a fellow whose foot had been run over by a cement truck.
Like me, he was hobbling around the dairy breakfast on crutches. “You never
know when accidents are going to happen.” he said.
At an event in Eau Claire a woman stopped me to ask about budget cuts for
the disabled. She had many stories to tell me about the effects of budget
cuts on her disabled clients.
Unless you have a disabled friend or family member it is easy to think of
the challenges they face as “someone else’s problem.” But, in truth, we are
all one bad day away from facing the world with a disability. We are all one
bad accident away from needing the services provided by the state’s Medicaid
program.
The state Medicaid program is huge; providing care to those in nursing
homes, the blind and disabled and health insurance for hundreds of thousands
of children and their parents on BadgerCare. One out of every five citizens
in Wisconsin benefits from the program; in many cases their very lives
depend on programs and services provided through Medicaid.
Of the $3 billion cut in funding to state agencies and many programs, a
portion had to come from the Department of Health. Department officials
looked at many different ideas to reduce Medicaid spending.
Family Care, a Medicaid program that serves the elderly and disabled, was
required to make cuts. Two ‘Managed Care Organizations’ provide services to
citizens in our area. It was the cuts made by these organizations –to help
balance the state budget – that concerned the Eau Claire woman.
She advocated for an audit of the Family Care program – agreeing with me
that an audit might show problems and possible efficiencies to be gained in
the program. It is critical in these tight budget times to review how we
spend every tax dollar.
The Joint Audit Committee is tentatively scheduled to meet July 14th to
consider such an audit and I invited the woman to come to Madison and
testify before the committee. I explained her input is very important. She
can help the Audit Bureau staff understand the problems and what solutions
might be possible.
Begun back in 1999 as a pilot program in four counties, including La Crosse,
Family Care was a way to restructure Wisconsin’s care for the elderly,
physically and developmentally disabled. The idea was to use ‘managed care
organizations’ as a way to coordinate services for clients – providing the
services people needed and the ability for people to stay in their homes as
long as possible.
In recent years, the program has expanded to cover most of Western
Wisconsin. But with the expansion comes complaints from many that the
program is inefficient, duplicates local services and fails to adequately
address the needs of clients.
Like all public hearings, anyone can testify at the hearing. For those
unable to travel, you can submit written testimony, which I will deliver to
all of the committee members. If you are interested in learning more about
the program or the upcoming hearing, please feel free to give me a call
(877-763-6636 toll free in Madison).
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