Thursday, April 29, 1999
Ninety-Fourth Regular Session
The Chief Clerk makes the following entries under the above date:
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Assembly substitute amendment 1 to Assembly Bill 149 offered by Representative Seratti.
Assembly amendment 1 to Assembly Bill 170 offered by Representative Pocan.
Assembly amendment 1 to Assembly Bill 183 offered by Representative Staskunas.
Assembly substitute amendment 1 to Assembly Bill 238 offered by Representative Johnsrud.
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Read first time and referred:
Assembly Bill 315
Relating to: prohibiting the department of transportation from providing information compiled and maintained by the department that contains the personal identifiers of 10 or more people.
By
Representatives Foti, Huebsch, Ainsworth, Berceau, Black, Bock, Boyle, Brandemuehl, Cullen, Freese, Gronemus, Gunderson, Hahn, Handrick, Hasenohrl, Hutchison, Johnsrud, Kelso, Klusman, Kreibich, Kreuser, F. Lasee, M. Lehman, Miller, Montgomery, Musser, Olsen, Petrowski, Plale, Plouff, Porter, Powers, Reynolds, Rhoades, Sherman, Sinicki, Spillner, Staskunas, Stone, Turner, Wasserman, Young and Ziegelbauer; cosponsored by Senators Erpenbach, Panzer, Wirch, Darling, Drzewiecki, Lazich, Roessler, Schultz, Welch and Clausing.
To committee on Judiciary and Personal Privacy
.
Assembly Bill 316
Relating to: insurance coverage of hearing screening tests for certain infants.
By
Representatives Wasserman and Coggs; cosponsored by Senators Burke, Robson, Darling, Risser and Clausing.
To committee on Health.
Assembly Bill 317
Relating to: infant hearing screening and making an appropriation.
By
Representatives Wasserman and Coggs; cosponsored by Senators Burke, Robson, Darling, Risser and Clausing.
To committee on Health.
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Executive Communications
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
Madison
April 27, 1999
To the Honorable Members of the Assembly:
The following bill, originating in the Assembly, has been approved, signed and deposited in the office of the Secretary of State:
Bill Number Act Number Date Approved
Assembly Bill 65 2 April 26, 1999
Respectfully submitted,
Tommy G. Thompson
Governor
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Speaker's Communications
April 27, 1999
Charles Sanders
Assembly Chief Clerk
One East Main Street
Room 402
Madison, Wisconsin 53708
Dear Mr. Sanders:
On April 26, 1999,
Assembly Bill 312 relating to the requirement that an unemancipated minor obtain parental consent before she has an abortion was referred to the Assembly Committee on Judiciary and Personal Privacy. Pursuant to Assembly Rule
42 (3)(c), I hereby withdraw
Assembly Bill 312 from the Assembly Committee on Judiciary and Personal Privacy and re-refer
Assembly Bill 312 to the Assembly Committee on Family Law.
Representatives Huebsch and Kedzie have been notified of this change and approve.
Sincerely,
Scott R. Jensen
Assembly Speaker
Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
April 26, 1999
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
At the request of the Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS), we have performed a financial audit of the Health Insurance Risk-Sharing Plan (HIRSP) for fiscal year (FY) 1997-98. HIRSP provides medical insurance for individuals unable to obtain private coverage. During our audit period,
1997 Wisconsin Act 27 transferred oversight responsibility for HIRSP from the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance to DHFS, modified the plan in response to new federal requirements, and required responsibility for its daily operations to be transferred to the State's fiscal agent for Medicaid. Act 27 also made significant changes to plan funding, including providing $17.9 million in general purpose revenue for the 1997-99 biennium and increasing health care providers' responsibility for HIRSP funding.
DHFS had less than three months to prepare for its new program oversight responsibility, and implementation of funding and other program changes has been more complex than expected. As a result, ensuring that HIRSP is funded in accordance with statutory provisions has been difficult; efforts to implement Medicaid cost-containment and reimbursement practices are resulting in operational and administrative problems; and higher-than-anticipated plan administration costs are being incurred. We qualify our opinion for the FY 1997-98 financial statements because DHFS cannot accurately determine and disclose health care providers' actual contributions to HIRSP.
DHFS is taking steps to address these concerns, including proposing significant changes to HIRSP as part of the 1999-2001 biennial budget. These changes would clarify plan operations and facilitate Medicaid cost-containment efforts. As it considers this proposal or any other proposed changes to HIRSP, the Legislature may also wish to require that DHFS take steps to improve financial management of HIRSP by funding it on the same basis used for financial reporting, monitoring claim liabilities, and improving cash management.
