Public notice
Health and Family Services
For the Community Services Block Grant
State Plan for Federal Fiscal Years 2002 and 2003
Notice is hereby given that the Department of Health and Family Services will hold a public hearing to consider the proposed Federal State Plan for Federal Fiscal Years 2002-2003 for the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Program pursuant to 42 USC 9901 et seq. Section 676 (a) (2) (B) of the Coats Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1998 requires the State Agency to hold at least one public hearing in conjunction with the development of the State plan. The purpose of the hearing is to provide the public an opportunity to comment on the proposed use and distribution of funds to be provided through the grant for the period covered by the state plan.
Hearing Information
The public hearing will be held:
Date & Time Location
July 17, 2001 Room 751
Tuesday 1 W. Wilson Street
1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Milwaukee, WI
The hearing site is fully accessible to people with disabilities.
Analysis Prepared by the Department of Health and Family Services
The Community Services Block Grant State Plan document is a plan for the allocation of the Federal Fiscal Year 2002-2003 Community Services Block Grant as reauthorized under the Coats Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1998. The allocation for FY 2002 is estimated to be $7,256,646. This estimate for FFY 2002 and FFY 2003 will be revised accordingly based upon actual grant award.
The overall objective of the CSBG Program is to empower communities and individuals to overcome the effects of poverty. The department distributes the funds by formula to sixteen community action agencies (CAAs), eleven Indian tribes, a migrant organization, the Wisconsin Community Action Program Association (WISCAP), two limited purpose agencies (LPAs) and uses the remainder of the funds to administer the block grant program.
As authorized by Congress, at least 90% of the funds made available to the State of Wisconsin must be used to make grants for the purposes of the CSBG subtitle. Wisconsin community action agencies will receive at least 86% of the total Wisconsin CSBG funding based on a formula incorporating the number of persons at or below 125% of the applicable poverty income level by county, according to the most recent census data. The formula further reflects a county per capita dollar allocation under the block grant. The per capita allocation is determined by multiplying 86% times the total state allocation and dividing by the total number of persons at or below the 125% income level in CSBG funded counties. These block grant funds are distributed in Wisconsin in the following manner:
CAAs - 86%
Tribal governments - 4%
United Migrant Opportunity Services - 4%
Limited Purpose Agencies and WISCAP - up to 1%
State Administration – up to, but not more than 5%
A portion of the state administration allocation may be used to coordinate state level training and technical assistance to promote improved services and outcomes for low-income communities, support asset building programs for low-income individuals and support innovative programs and activities conducted by CAAs to eliminate poverty, promote self-sufficiency and promote community revitalization.
Any grantee funded under these block grants must be organized as a not-for-profit corporation or social development commission and must have a board of directors that includes a minimum of one-third representatives of the poor in the area to be served, one-third elected public officials or their designees, and the balance representing specific groups or geographic areas within the community.
Limited Purpose Agencies must be organizations with statewide impact and demonstrate that the agency's services promote self-sufficiency. The LPA's projects must focus on nutrition, housing or health. The two LPAs funded in 2001 were the Foundation for Rural Housing and the Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups. To qualify for block grant funding, LPAs and migrant organizations must have a board of directors consisting of at least 50% low-income persons or representatives of low-income groups.
Contact Person
To find out more about the hearing or to request a copy of the proposed CSBG State Plan write, phone or e-mail:
Moira Lafayette
Bureau of Programs and Policies
P.O. Box 8916
Madison, WI 53708-8916
(608) 267-5149
If you are hearing or visually impaired, do not speak English, or have circumstances that might make communication at a hearing difficult and if you, therefore, require an interpreter or a non-English, large print or taped version of the hearing document, contact the person at the address or phone number given above at least 10 days before the hearing. With less than 10 days notice, an interpreter may not be available.
Written comments received by mail or e-mail at the above address no later than 5:00 PM, July 24, 2001, will be given the same consideration as testimony presented at the public hearing.
Health and Family Services
(Medicaid Reimbursement of Hospitals)
The State of Wisconsin reimburses hospitals for medical services provided to low-income persons under the authority of Title XIX of the Federal Social Security Act and Chapter 49.43 to 49.47, Wisconsin Statutes. The Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services administers this program that is called Medicaid or Medical Assistance (MA). Federal statutes and regulations require state plans, one for outpatient services and one for inpatient services, that provide the methods and standards for paying for hospital outpatient and inpatient services.
State plans are now in effect for the reimbursement of outpatient hospital services and inpatient hospital services. The Department is proposing to make changes to the provisions contained in these plans effective July 1, 2001 or at a later date to implement provisions of the 2001-2003 state budget act. These proposed changes are subject to change upon enactment of the 2001-2003 state budget act.
Outpatient Hospital Services
Proposed changes in the state plan for reimbursement of outpatient hospital services may include:
1. Recalculate the outpatient maximum rate per visit for each hospital based on a more current audited cost report as required to implement provisions of the 2001-2003 budget act
2. Adjustments to the Medicaid Utilization Supplemental Payment as required to implement provisions of the 2001-2003 budget act
3. Modification of supplemental payments to essential access city hospitals (EACH) in order to maintain compliance with federal payment limits and to implement provisions of the 2001-2003 budget act.
4. Revision of the rural hospital adjustment percentages in order to ensure that payments do not exceed authorized funds and to implement provisions of the 2001-2003 budget act.
5. For the indigent care allowance, adjustment of the maximum available funding, modification of the criteria for a hospital to qualify for an allowance, and modification of the methodology for distributing the available funds to qualifying hospitals in order to carry out provisions of the 2001-2003 budget act and to maintain compliance with federal payment limits.
Inpatient Hospital Services
Proposed changes in the state plan for reimbursement for inpatient services may include:
1. For the payment system based on diagnosis-related groups (DRGs), adjustment of DRG weighting factors, modification of the method of determining the cost of claims for determining DRG weighting factors and adjustment of DRG weighting factors, modification of the standard DRG base rates and area wage indices.
2. Revision of the rural hospital adjustment percentages to ensure that payments do not exceed authorized funds and to implement provisions of the 2001- 2003 budget act.
3. Modification of the disproportionate share adjustment parameters to recognize a more current proportion of services provided by hospitals to Medicaid recipients and to implement provisions of the 2001-2003 budget act.
4. Modification of supplemental payments to essential access city hospitals (EACH) to maintain compliance with federal payment limits and to implement provisions of the 2001-2003 budget act.
5. Modification of the supplemental payment for major managed care hospitals to implement provisions of the 2001-2003 budget act.
6. For the indigent care allowance, adjustment of the maximum available funding, modification of the criteria for a hospital to qualify for an allowance, and modification of the methodology for distributing the available funds to qualifying hospitals in order to maintain compliance with federal payment limits and to implement provisions of the 2001-2003 budget act.
7. For the general assistance disproportionate share supplement, adjustment of the maximum available funding, modification of the criteria for a hospital to qualify for the supplement, and modification of the methodology for distributing the available funds to qualifying hospitals in order to maintain compliance with federal payment limits and to implement provisions of the 2001-2003 budget act.
Implementation of the above changes to the State Plan for inpatient and outpatient services is currently expected to change the annual expenditures of the Wisconsin Medicaid program by $15,901,800 for state fiscal year 2001-2002.
Copies of Proposed Changes and Proposed Payment Rates
Copies of the proposed changes will be sent to every county social services or human service department main office where they will be available for public review. For more information, interested persons may fax or write to:
