Walker uses federal Medicaid bonus money to pad surplus

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Every year, the federal government awards states a CHIPRA performance bonus for increasing enrollment of uninsured children in the Medicaid program. Last year, Wisconsin received a bonus of more than $24.5 million. But according to Jon Peacock from the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families, the Walker Administration failed to put that money back into the state's Medicaid program, known as BadgerCare. Instead, the money was shifted into the general fund and called a "surplus." Walker has been touting a two-year budget surplus of $342 million and a $109 million deposit to the state's rainy day fund, even as organizations that manage BadgerCare threaten to leave the program because the state has decreased its reimbursement rate. Amy talks with Jon Peacock about the issue.

Audio at link
http://www.wtdy.com/Walker-uses-federal-Medicaid-bonus-money-to-pad-su/14570354