Two Democratic lawmakers want the state Department of Health Services to investigate drinking water as a possible source when children are lead poisoned. The proposal also greatly lowers the blood lead levels that would trigger an investigation.
Tag: Wisconsin Department of Health Services
Posted inGovernment, Health & Welfare, Scott Walker's Wisconsin
Wisconsin FoodShare fraud crackdown questioned
In 2011, Walker’s first year as governor, 102 people were suspended from the FoodShare program for violating program rules, according to DHS. That number has increased each year, to 1,184 in 2014.
Posted inGovernment, Health & Welfare
Wisconsin DHS auditor retreats from $3.5 million claim against family planning clinics
In a Medicaid audit closely watched by state clinics, as well as their political allies and opponents, Inspector General Alan White reduced the amount his office is seeking in repayment for birth control by 93 percent and acknowledged the state’s own instructions had “created confusion” for some clinics.
Posted inMoney & Politics Column
State agency spending on outside service contracts continues to rise
The latest report, for fiscal 2014, shows state agency spending on outside services is up for the fourth straight year. This has happened despite the Act 10 benefit changes under Gov. Scott Walker that arguably make state workers more cost-effective, compared to the private sector.
Posted inGovernment, Health & Welfare
Family planning clinics say state audits could force many to close
Two family planning clinics serving low-income women say their operations will be at serious financial risk if state auditors stand firm on claims that they overbilled Medicaid by $3.5 million, largely for birth control drugs and devices.
“My hunch is that if any one of us were audited it would come out the same way. We’re all operating the same way,” said Beth Hartung, president of the Wisconsin Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association. “It would mean, quite frankly, that we would all close.”
Posted inGovernment, Health & Welfare, Justice & Safety, Rethinking Sex Offenders
Wisconsin freeing more sex offenders from mental lockup
Wisconsin officials have nearly quadrupled the number of offenders released from state custody after they were committed as sexually violent persons. The risks to residents are reasonable, officials say, because the state’s treatment programs are working and new data suggest these offenders are less likely to reoffend than previously thought.
Posted inEconomy, Government, Health & Welfare
Neighbors diverge on health care
People in Wisconsin and Minnesota living just barely above the poverty line are about to see their health care fortunes change — in opposite directions.
Posted inEconomy, Frac Sand Rush, Government, Health & Welfare
Frac sand health fears rise as mining booms in Wisconsin
Like some other west-central Wisconsin residents, Frances and Dean Sayles are frustrated with the state Department of Natural Resources’ lack of a comprehensive approach to addressing concerns surrounding potential health problems from crystalline silica dust. Now some residents, academics, local government officials and even a frac sand producer have begun taking action.
Posted inA Frail System, Government, Health & Welfare, Justice & Safety
Wisconsin nursing homes fail to report deaths, injuries
Attorneys for families of residents say that facilities’ failure to report serious injuries or deaths related to abuse or neglect is not uncommon. Far more often, they say, the state health department only learns about a case of alleged neglect or abuse after a family member files a complaint. Advocates for health care providers stress that incidents of neglect and abuse are extremely rare, and can come to regulators’ attention in a variety of ways.
Posted inA Frail System, Government, Health & Welfare
Center’s inquiries prompt state policy changes
In response to the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism’s inquiries into an accident involving a 88-year-old woman at a Milwaukee nursing home, the state Department of Health Services launched an internal review, which concluded that state officials did not properly respond. As a result, the department says it has reviewed its intake procedures and made changes to ensure that complaints against nursing homes are triaged appropriately and investigated in a timely fashion.
Posted inGovernment, Health & Welfare, Justice & Safety
How to find nursing home inspection reports
In January, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services began publishing state inspection reports of nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other health care providers on its website. Records are available from July 2012 onward.
Posted inA Frail System, Government, Health & Welfare, Justice & Safety
New state law conceals records of abuse, neglect in nursing homes
A new Wisconsin law, which went into effect in February 2011, bars families from using state health investigation records in state civil suits filed against long-term providers, including nursing homes and hospices. It also makes such records inadmissible in criminal cases against health care providers accused of neglecting or abusing patients.