Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Gwen Moore (WI-4) praised a letter sent by 50 BadgerCare advocate groups to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius calling for the agency to deny the recent request from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) for a waiver of federal maintenance of effort (MOE) requirements.
“This request for a waiver of federal MOE requirement is just another attempt by our wayward Governor Scott Walker to balance the budget on the backs of the low-income Wisconsinites,” said Rep. Gwen Moore. “During these tough economic times we need to be figuring out how to increase health services to the less fortunate, not strip them away.
“I want to applaud all of the advocate groups who have joined together to stand up for the rights of these families and ensure that they receive the health services that they deserve.”
The letter in part stated, “The effects of the changes proposed by DHS are clearly at odds with congressional intent to significantly reduce the number of uninsured Americans by building on the Medicaid and CHIP coverage that states already have in place.”
“Approval of the DHS waiver request would be very damaging for Wisconsin and a dangerous national precedent. A waiver would reduce BadgerCare coverage by more than 64,000 people and would conflict with the MOE requirements of federal law. A waiver would increase bureaucratic red tape and the number of uninsured children in Wisconsin, reversing decades of progress made on both fronts under Republican and Democratic governors.
“A waiver would also increase low-income families’ out-of-pocket health care costs, pricing needed care out of reach for some, and it could be particularly harmful for children with special health care needs and other people with disabling conditions who rely on BadgerCare. In addition, a wavier would imply HHS’ approval of a process that lacked meaningful public input based upon the fact that essential details of the proposal were not made available in advance of any public hearing opportunities.”
To view the letter in its entirety, please click here.
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