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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 14, 2013
CONTACT: Claire Smith, (608)
266-1683
Governor Walker's Budget Brings Much Needed Entitlement
Reform
By Dennis G. Smith, Secretary
Wisconsin Department of Health Services
Governor Scott Walker’s budget proposals for the Department of Health
Services (DHS) represent a bold, yet commonsense, approach to
entitlement reform. The Governor’s proposals on Medicaid and Food Stamp
reform provide a compassionate and straightforward message—in Wisconsin,
you can count on your neighbor when you need help, but you shouldn’t ask
him or her to do something you can do for yourself.
The policy debate ahead needs to be informed by facts. The Medicaid
budget will serve roughly the same number of people as are currently
enrolled while the number of uninsured across the state is projected to
decrease by 224,580. In other words, 47 percent fewer people will be
uninsured under this plan. State spending on Medicaid will increase by
more than $644 million. This is in addition to the $1.2 billion in new
money Governor Walker provided for Medicaid in his first budget. Access
to affordable coverage will be preserved. For an individual at the
lowest income level of those who will have to pay a premium for
coverage, their payment will be 19 dollars per month, or less than 65
cents per day. Even still, some will choose to do without coverage, but
that will be their choice. Government does not exist to make all of our
choices for us. We believe, based on experience of the past six months,
the majority of individuals will see the value of insurance coverage
even when they have to pay a reasonable share of the cost.
There are some who think the state should expand Medicaid coverage to
as many people as possible and send the bill to the federal government.
The flaw in this thinking is the federal government has no money of its
own. It gets it from the same people as the state does. There is no
“gain” for the taxpayers paying for the cost of expanding Medicaid if
the bill is paid by the federal government rather than the state.
Moreover, the “spend as much as you can today, don’t worry about
tomorrow” attitude is why the federal government and a number of states
are in fiscal trouble. The price for full Medicaid expansion would mean
forfeiting too much control to a distant bureaucracy. The state would
lose commonsense Medicaid reforms secured last year, which ensure the
program is available to those who need it most.
Entitlement reform goes beyond Medicaid in this budget. Governor
Walker does not want anyone left behind as the economy continues to
recover. Recently, he announced his intention to commit $16.9 million to
support job training for able-bodied adults without children on the Food
Stamp program, known as “FoodShare” in Wisconsin, to ensure they receive
the skills they need to fully return to the work force. For too long,
most states, including Wisconsin, asked the federal government to waive
work requirements for these participants, using a mistaken rationale
that they face too many barriers to employment. It is less costly to the
state to simply let them collect benefits than offer them a helping
hand. That was the easy path to take. It was also the wrong path to
take. Governor Walker will invest in the future of these individuals and
their families to help them break the cycle of poverty and dependence.
The work of preparing a comprehensive program to help this population
successfully participate in our economic recovery will be challenging,
but things worth doing always are.
Under Governor Walker’s budget, Wisconsin will continue its
traditions of blending compassion with responsibility, as well as its
leadership role in reinventing government by reforming entitlements to
their true purpose of providing a temporary hand-up, rather than a
permanent handout. Thereby, continuing to move Wisconsin forward by
helping individuals transition from a cycle of dependence to a position
of certainty that comes with self-reliance and independence from
government.
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Last Revised:
April 18, 2013
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