CONTACT: Stephanie Smiley, (608) 266-5862

STATEMENT FROM SECRETARY DENNIS G. SMITH REGARDING
LIFTING OF THE FAMILY CARE CAPS

MADISON—The Department of Health Services Secretary Dennis G. Smith today offered the following statement regarding lifting of the Family Care caps:

“The sole person responsible for yesterday’s announcement on lifting the Family Care caps is Governor Walker. The Governor stated publicly several times that he was committed to Wisconsin’s seniors and individuals with disabilities with his intention to lift the cap by the end of the year. We knew that this would be a challenging timeline for our Department, but Family Care has always been a top priority for our Administration. We are finalizing a plan with our partners to ensure that seniors and individuals with disabilities will get the services they need in the future, while ensuring financial stability of the program.

Critics who are not involved in our discussions with our federal partners at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are choosing to ignore the months of work we have done to get us to the point of yesterday’s announcement. The Governor also announced we would be expanding the program to counties previously not served by Family Care, a decision that goes beyond any procedural matters raised by CMS.”

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Last Revised:  December 29, 2011