Scott Walker Folds To Federal Pressure On Health Care

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) is taking credit for lifting an enrollment cap on a state long-term care program just “two weeks after federal authorities told his administration it had to take that step,” the Journel Sentinel is reporting. Walker had proposed a spending cap on Family Care in his state budget and it went into effect July 1. But the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) — which pays about 60 percent of the program’s cost — noted that Walker “needed federal approval to put the cap in place” and directed “the state to identify any individuals not currently enrolled onto the Family Care or Self-Directed Supports waivers since the July 1, 2011… and immediately enroll those individuals in the waiver programs.” Walker made no mention of the federal order during a press conference announcing the end of the cap last week. Meanwhile, the state also accepted “a $24.5 million bonus payment from the federal government for enrolling eligible children” in BadgerCare Plus — the children’s health insurance health care plan.