Wisconsin: $45 Million check not in the mail

http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/45-million-federal-check-not-in-the-mail-132900383.html



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Madison - Gov. Scott Walker's administration has conceded that it will not receive a $45 million windfall from the federal government that the administration was counting on to help close a budget shortfall in the state's health plans for the poor.

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The news comes as the Walker administration prepares to submit its savings proposals for Medicaid programs to both the Legislature's budget committee and to federal officials for approval. Under the state budget, the administration has to find about $220 million in savings in state money in programs that provide medical care for children and families, nursing home care for the elderly and disabled, and prescription drugs for seniors.

To cover about a fifth of those savings, the state had been counting on the money from the federal government to reimburse past medical costs that Wisconsin and other states believe they improperly had to pay because of systemic federal mistakes involving disability programs. But in a letter sent Thursday, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius wrote that she lacked the legal authority to make the payments or provide a "quick solution" to the issue.

Wisconsin's Medicaid programs, which are paid for by the state and federal government, serve more than 1 million people.


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Insiders speculate that Walker will make up this shortfall by cutting $45 million in corporate taxes. No, it doesn't make sense, but that's never stopped Scooter before.

Just watch.