Wisconsin Department of Health Services Freeing Up Money to Cover Medicaid Costs for Nursing Homes

Tuesday, November 22nd, 2022 -- 12:00 PM

(By Gaby Vinick, Wisconsin Public Radio) The state Department of Health Services is freeing up more money to cover Medicaid costs for Wisconsin's nursing homes amid staffing shortages and demands for care for a fast-growing aging population, according to Gaby Vinick with Wisconsin Public Radio.

"It's going to be a real important financial shot in the arm of the nursing home organizations, and they desperately need this money to address workforce issues," said John Sauer, president and CEO of LeadingAge Wisconsin, a nonprofit dedicated to serving seniors and people with disabilities.

DHS will raise the reimbursement rate from 77 percent this year to 91 percent in 2023. On Wednesday, the department said it's following a recommendation by the Governor's Task Force on Caregiving, with most of the money supporting better wages and benefits for direct care workers. Since 2016, Wisconsin has lost 56 nursing homes, 10 of which closed this year, according to data from DHS. 

"We know there are probably a handful of facilities that are probably contemplating right now whether they go through with closure," Sauer said. "So I guess we're paying for the inadequacies of our payment system of the past, it caught up with us ... and it was heightened by and made more acute with the pandemic and the general, kind of systemic workforce crisis," he continued.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.