The safety net that exists to support the independence of disabled people is interwoven throughout programs that are impacted by this budget. The elimination of food security programming, housing and community support funding and the savings measures taken within Medicaid will have a detrimental effect that far outweighs the cost savings the legislature is seeking.
It has been proven in several states that work requirements create a far more significant burden and cost that they save. In particular Arkansas saw more than 18,000 individuals lose coverage. Researchers found work and reporting requirements in Arkansas were associated with losses in Medicaid coverage, an increase in the percentage of adults who were uninsured, and no significant change in employment—as nearly everyone targeted by the policy met the requirements already or qualified for an exemption.
Within Wisconsin the impacts of these work requirements will be felt by the disability community in a number of ways. These will impact unpaid caregivers who may be the reason someone is able to live in the community, paid homecare workers who are not paid a substantial wage and must rely on Medicaid as a result, and will require individuals with disabilities to still have to file additional paperwork to prove that they are exempt from these requirements.
The Wisconsin State Assembly proposed similar increases to the frequency of reporting and updating eligibility from one time per year to twice a year. This measure failed to move beyond the committee level after opposition from advocates, providers, and religious organizations was raised. Authors were unable to indicate how increased bureaucratic oversight would result in eliminating fraud waste and abuse without increasing the burden and cost States must incur.
This budget is harmful to the very infrastructure that exists to support our disabled and aging populations that are victimized by systems of oppression, What this budget fails to do is mandate home and community based services, which have been a proven cost savings measure. With a $1.7 billion cost to continue, the measures in this bill will certainly force states to make difficult decisions which will have a detrimental impact on families across the state.
We turn our attention to the Senate in hope that they will address issues inherent in this budget. The Wisconsin IL Network urges Senators Baldwin and Johnson to oppose these provisions as passed by the House of Representatives. We ask the community to reach out to our Senators and ask them to pass common sense reforms to Medicaid instead of these harmful deep cuts that fail to meet their intended goal.
