This memo provides final funding notice of the base Income Maintenance (IM) Administrative Allocation for IM programs for the period January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024 (Calendar Year 2024), for Consortia; and October 1, 2023, through September 30, 2024 (Federal Fiscal Year 24), for the tribal agencies.

This memo announces changes to policy regarding who can sign the following on behalf of incompetent or incapacitated adults:

• Medicaid and BadgerCare Plus applications and renewals
• Forms related to enrollment, disenrollment, and changes in adult home and community-based long-term care programs (Family Care, Family Care Partnership, PACE, and IRIS)

This operations memo announces the discontinuation of certain policy requirements for childless adults enrolled in BadgerCare Plus.

Starting May 1, 2024, all cases of invasive Cronobacter infections among Wisconsin infants (less than 12 months old) are reportable to DHS. This change will bring Cronobacter reportability in alignment with its status as a nationally notifiable disease.

This memo announces a change in how the face value of life insurance is determined for purposes of the asset test used for Medicaid eligibility.

This memo provides guidance on the use of out-of-home care providers, licensed under Wisconsin’s children’s code (Chapter 48), for emergency mental health crisis stabilization services to children. 

This memo announces the reinstatement of and changes to premiums for BadgerCare Plus children. Premiums were temporarily suspended during the federal public health emergency (PHE) related to COVID-19. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services is making changes to premiums based on guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued in 2023.

This operations memo provides information on the following:

• Tax year 2023 information on tax credits and tax preparation services available to working families in Wisconsin.
• A reminder to Wisconsin Works (W-2) and Income Maintenance (IM) agencies of the importance of notifying program participants of the financial advantages of federal and state tax credits.
• A reminder on how to count federal and state tax refunds when determining financial eligibility for assistance.

This memo announces a new policy and process. Individuals found liable for FoodShare overpayments can request to reduce the outstanding balance of their overpayment based on what they anticipate they are able to repay in a three-year period. This policy will provide FoodShare members an opportunity to minimize the burden of repaying overpayment claims when experiencing financial hardships.

This operations memo provides income maintenance (IM) agencies with information about how to implement the 2024 Federal Poverty Level (FPL) income guidelines for the BadgerCare Plus, Medicaid and SeniorCare programs, as well as the updated tables, effective dates, and cross references for these programs.