Wisconsin Could Be First In Nation To Require Work, Drug Testing For Medicaid

Wisconsin could become the first state in the nation to require some adults in poverty to work and take drug tests for their health care under a measure that cleared the Legislature’s budget committee on Thursday night.

The proposal would also create a pilot program where — for the first time in Wisconsin — low-income parents with school-aged children would have to work in order to receive food stamps.

Gov. Scott Walker proposed both items as part of a continuing effort to require people to work or submit to drug testing for a variety of public assistance programs Wisconsin.

The plan passed the budget committee on a 12-4 party-line vote, with all Democrats voting against.

“Gov. Walker seeks to engage in what I feel is some meaningless contest to see how cruel and discriminatory we can be to the poor,” said state Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee.

Republicans said they would help people move from dependence to independence.

“This is not punitive,” said state Rep. Amy Loudenbeck, R-Clinton. “We want to provide opportunities to people. This is one way of doing it.”

The GOP plan passed would affect Wisconsin’s budget for Medicaid programs in a variety of ways. They include:

Requiring Childless Adults In Poverty To Work And Take Drug Tests For Their Health Care

Childless adults with incomes at or below the federal poverty level would have to submit to drug screening in order to receive BadgerCare Plus, which is Wisconsin’s version of Medicaid.

They’d also have to work or enroll in job training for at least 80 hours each month.

The change could affect 148,000 childless adults who are currently enrolled in BadgerCare Plus.

The proposal would need the federal government’s approval in the form of a waiver. That never happened under former President Barack Obama, but Republicans are optimistic it could happen under President Donald Trump.

The state’s waiver request would also charge BadgerCare Plus recipients to pay small monthly premiums. People who don’t pay their premiums would lose eligibility for BadgerCare Plus, at least temporarily.

Requiring Some Parents In Poverty To Work For Their Food Stamps

The budget would require some poor parents with school-aged children to work or undergo job training in order to receive FoodShare.

It would mirror a change the state made for adults without children in one of Walker’s previous budgets. That change, which took effect in July 2015, has resulted in more than 18,000 people getting jobs but more than 70,000 people losing FoodShare eligibility.

Because FoodShare benefits are funded with federal dollars, the change would not save state government any money, even if the number of people receiving food stamps declined.

The plan would also restrict FoodShare from households with cash or savings totaling $25,000 or more.

It would also take away a father’s food stamps if he’s at least three months overdue on his child support payments. A standalone bill that would do the same thing recently passed the Assembly.

A Cash Windfall Thanks To New Medicaid Estimates

Republicans accepted new estimates from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau that projected costs in Medicaid programs would grow slower than Walker’s administration had predicted.

The new estimate would save the state roughly $96 million. The Joint Finance Committee set aside $50 million of that money that it could use elsewhere in the budget.

A 65 Cent Hourly Increase For Personal Care Workers

Personal care workers — who help people with disabilities and chronic conditions with everything from eating to bathing — would see their first hourly rate increase since 2008.

The state would increase its payments to personal care providers from $16.08 to $16.73, an increase of 65 cents. Not all of that funding would go toward workers themselves, who earn between $9 and $10 per hour according to an industry group.

Republican lawmakers changed several of Walker’s proposals to require another vote from the budget committee, even if the federal government gives its ok.

All of the changes that passed Thursday night still need the full Legislature’s approval.