On July 3, 2019, Gov. Tony Evers signed into law the 2019-21 state budget as 2019 Act 9. The governor used his partial-veto authority to change 78 provisions adopted by the Legislature.
The final budget includes bipartisan priorities such as a middle class tax cut, water quality initiatives, expansions to dental care access, other health care initiatives, and increased education and transportation funding.
Below is a summary of notable provisions removed by the governor’s partial veto.
- Adjusts provisions for scholarships at the Marquette University School of Dentistry. The partial veto expands the scholarships to students in all health care professions, allows scholarships to students practicing anywhere in the state, and expands the scholarships to all schools.
- Defunds FoodShare Employment and Training for able-bodied adults with dependents and drug screening requirements.
- Reduces funding available for the Department of Health Services (DHS) to administer FoodShare Employment and Training and Medicaid eligibility requirements, including drug screening and work requirements.
- Maintains the $30 million provided but adjusts the funding for hospitals that serve a disproportionate share of low-income patients by allowing an increase to the maximum per hospital payment and giving DHS the flexibility to determine the amount of additional funding hospitals receive under the Disproportionate Share Hospital supplemental payments and other potential supplemental payments. Gov. Evers noted DHS needs the flexibility to prioritize the needs of patients in the absence of federal dollars from his proposed Medicaid expansion.
- Reduces Medical Assistance funding by $15 million in each year of the biennium. The governor noted the funds are no longer necessary based on updated expenditure projections.
- Removes $5 million in funding for Medicaid reimbursement rate increases for physicians and behavioral health providers in both years of the biennium from the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) supplemental appropriation. The governor objected to keeping the funds in the JFC appropriation and directs DHS to provide rate increases from current resources.
- Removes $2.7 million in funding for telehealth in Medicaid from the JFC supplemental appropriation. The governor objected to keeping the funds in the JFC appropriation and directs DHS to proceed from existing resources.
- Removes $1 million GPR for Medicaid reimbursement rate increases for physical health providers. The governor objected to keeping the funds in the JFC appropriation and to expending the funds without Medicaid expansion.
- Reduces funding in the Medicaid home health benefit for a hub-and-spoke treatment model for substance abuse by $89,900 GPR. The governor objected to keeping the funds in the JFC appropriation and directed DHS to expend existing GPR funds.