IRIS: What's New

Stay up to date with latest news and updates about the IRIS (Include, Respect, I Self-Direct) program.

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Your IRIS providers need to take action by Dec. 31! Ask them to sign up on ForwardHealth, and talk with your IRIS consultant.

Your IRIS providers must take action by December 31 to keep delivering your services in April 2026

All IRIS providers must sign up with Wisconsin Medicaid through the ForwardHealth Portal by December 31, 2025. If your IRIS providers don’t sign up, they won’t get paid to deliver your IRIS services starting April 1, 2026. That means you’ll have to find new providers before April. The toolkit for IRIS participants is now updated with language asking providers to sign up by December 31.

Note: Participant-hired workers (PHWs) do not need to sign up. They will keep working as usual. PHWs are workers you sign or approve timesheets for.

See the updated IRIS Participant Toolkit for Adult Long-Term Care Provider Enrollment


Other news

IRIS waiver renewal

The renewed waiver is in effect January 2026. It is a roadmap for the program from 2026 to 2030. | December 2025

FEA request for proposal

On June 5, 2025, DHS published a request for proposal (RFP) to procure fiscal employer agent (FEA) services for IRIS. The RFP is posted on eSupplier as S-1640 DMS-25. The RFP is open until 2 p.m. CT on August 12, 2025. Instructions for submitting questions and RFP responses are available on eSupplier. | June 2025

ICA expands services

First Person Care Consultants, an IRIS consultant agency (ICA), expanded their services to participants in Crawford, Grant, Green, Iowa, Juneau, Lafayette, Richland, and Sauk counties. | January 2025

Get involved in the Wisconsin IDD-MH System Improvement project

The project steering committee is getting ready to choose which of the 37 recommendations from the Wisconsin IDD-MH System Improvement Report (PDF) to start working on, and who will work on them. | December 2024

Glossary

 
Last revised December 18, 2025