From WisPolitics.com/WisBusiness.com …
— State officials today rolled out details for a new $150 million, four-year grant program to boost Wisconsin’s healthcare workforce.
The state Department of Workforce Development announced the Workforce Innovation Grant: Healthcare Employment, Access, and Rural Transformation program, or WIG:HEART, will provide grants between $500,000 and $10 million, though just $4.9 million will be available in the first year.
Recipients can include nonprofits and government organizations working with other regional groups on projects in rural or semi-rural parts of the state.
The agency says grants will go to “leading-edge, long-term solutions” for rural healthcare workforce needs, modeled on the existing Workforce Innovation Grant program. Projects can cover training and technical support, care availability and collaboration on related issues.
DWD Secretary Amy Pechacek notes rural Wisconsin in particular faces challenges with its healthcare workforce.
“Access to timely, quality care is an essential building block to a high quality of life in Wisconsin,” she said in the release.
See more here, and see the release below.
— New York state Sen. James Skoufis is warning Wisconsin officials to “proceed with caution” with changes to IRIS, the state’s Medicaid-funded long-term care program.
“These are people’s lives who depend on these types of programs that we’re talking about, and so it’s important that any state move judiciously, cautiously, intelligently, with integrity,” Skoufis said on WISN 12’s “UpFront,” which is produced in partnership with WisPolitics. “And I sure hope that Wisconsin learns from some of the mistakes that occurred here in New York.”
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services has announced its notice of intent to select Public Partnerships LLC as its new vendor to handle finances and paperwork for IRIS, consolidating the program from multiple vendors to one.
PPL is the same company operating in New York. Two weeks ago, the U.S. Department of Justice sued PPL and the New York Health Department over accusations of Medicaid fraud and that the state failed to police the company. The company has also faced a bipartisan firestorm of criticism from state lawmakers over how it was chosen and the company’s rollout in New York.
PPL said in a statement that the company “rejects the claims in this complaint unequivocally,” adding, “It rests on inaccurate allegations that misrepresent who PPL is and how we work.”
IRIS, which is funded through federal and state Medicaid dollars, allows more than 29,000 Wisconsinites with physical or developmental disabilities to manage their own care with in-home assistance or transportation. It is projected to cost $1.5 billion in 2026 alone, according to state budget documents.
“They were months and months late with moving the balance of the individuals over to the program,” said Skoufis, a Democrat and chair of the committee on investigations and government operations, referring to the transition to PPL in New York. “There were thousands of caregivers who weren’t getting paid during the early and middle parts of this transition. It was a full-blown disaster. And putting, sort of, the cherry on top of this mess was PPL was gaslighting lawmakers, like myself. They were outright lying.”
Wisconsin’s transition to PPL is now on pause while DHS reviews formal protests that have been filed with the state.
In the protest documents, obtained by “UpFront” through an open records request, other competing companies, including current vendors, told state officials the change to PPL “introduces unacceptable risk to participants, workers and the State.”
“Appendix A documents real-world consequences experienced in other states following consolidation under PPL, including payroll disruptions, workforce instability, data exposure, and service interruptions,” iLife and the Centers for Independence wrote.
DHS declined to comment on the process or answer questions, citing the ongoing review.
“As a New Yorker, I’m in no place to tell Wisconsin what they should or should not be doing,” Skoufis said. “At the end of the day, they should proceed with caution.”
PPL also declined to comment on the Wisconsin contract but has touted its 25 years of experience in 18 states and has said the company maintains high satisfaction rates and enforcement.
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