Public notice
Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
Notice of Dollar Amount Adjustments for Repair Charges Subject to Mechanic's Liens
Under s.
779.41 (1), Stats., mechanics or repair businesses who transport, repair or perform any work on personal property at the request of the owner have a statutory lien on the property for the just and reasonable charges associated with the work, and may retain possession of the property until the charges are paid.
Generally, a mechanic's lien under s.
779.41, Stats., has priority over any previously recorded security interest in the personal property but only for the appropriate charges at the specified dollar amounts below.
Under s.
779.41 (1m), Stats., the Department is required to annually publish adjusted dollar amounts for charges on repairs to personal property subject to mechanic's liens. The adjustments are based on the annual change in the consumer price index, all items, U.S. city average, as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor.
The Department has determined that current dollar amounts specified under s.
779.41 (1),
(1) (a),
(1) (b), and
(1) (c) shall be increased by 1.6%, according to the prior year annual change in the consumer price index. Thus, the dollar amounts for charges under the mechanic's lien law are adjusted as follows:
Under s.
779.41 (1), mechanic's liens generally, $1,725.
Under s.
779.41 (1) (a), mechanic's liens on a trailer or semi-trailer designed for use with a road tractor, $5,165.
Under s.
779.41 (1) (b), mechanic's liens on road machinery, including mobile cranes, trench hoes, farm tractors, machines of husbandry, or off-highway construction vehicles and equipment, $8,610.
1. More than 10,000 and less than 20,000 pounds, $3,445.
2. 20,000 pounds or more, but less than 40,000 pounds, $6,800.
3. 40,000 pounds or more, but less than 60,000 pounds, $10,340.
4. 60,000 pounds or more, $13,375.
These revised dollar amounts under the mechanic's lien law shall apply to work commenced on or after January 1, 2003 for which a lien is claimed. These revised dollar amounts shall remain in effect until the first day of the first month following publication of new adjusted dollar amounts in the
Wisconsin Administrative Register.
Contact Information:
Paul Dingee, Section Chief
Trade Practices Bureau
Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
2811 Agriculture Drive
P.O. Box 8911
Madison, WI 53708-8911
Telephone: (608) 224-4925
Health and Family Services
Medical Assistance Reimbursement for Services Provided by Local Governmental Units, including Counties, Municipalities, Cooperative Educational Service Agencies and School Districts
Notice is hereby given that the Department of Health and Family Services intends to change its methods and standards for setting payment rates for services provided by local governmental units including counties, municipalities, Cooperative Educational Service Agencies (CESAs) and school districts to individuals eligible for Medicaid under the authority of Title XIX of the federal Social Security Act. The Wisconsin Department Health and Family Services administers the joint federal-state Medicaid program for the state of Wisconsin. This notice is intended to satisfy the requirements of
42 CFR 447.205.
The State of Wisconsin currently provides reimbursement for certain services provided by local governmental units to individuals eligible for Medicaid. Examples of the services provided by these entities include outpatient mental health services, alcohol and other drug abuse treatment, psychiatric services, personal care services, and case management services. The department makes payments to local governmental units for the specific services they provide to eligible Medicaid recipients in accordance with an established fee schedule. In addition, local governmental units currently may apply for additional funding from the department for any operating deficits incurred in providing these services to eligible Medicaid recipients. For purposes of determining the amount of any additional funding for incurred deficits, the department has established an audit and reconciliation process. Through this process the amount of the local government's payments eligible for federal matching funds is identified and the federal share of this amount is paid up to specified limits.
The department intends to change its methods and standards for setting payments by increasing the rates paid for certain services provided by local governmental units and by eliminating additional payments to these units for deficits incurred in delivering the services.
The department believes that by increasing the payment rates for services provided and by eliminating the deficit funding process, the goals of the program will be better met and administrative efficiency will be improved.
The department intends to establish the new rate amounts for the services by applying appropriate inflation factors to historical payment rates or by setting rates based on current prevailing charges. Any increase resulting from this change will not result in rates that exceed the maximum amounts permissible under federal regulations. The increased rate amounts will be in effect for services provided on or after January 1, 2003.
The estimated increase in aggregate expenditures for these rate increases is $ 12.9 million for fiscal year 2003 and $47.4 million on an annual basis thereafter.
Written comments:
Written comments on the proposed change may be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to:
Department of Health and Family Services
Attention: Wisconsin Medicaid Program
P.O. Box 309
Madison, Wisconsin 53701-0309
Or by faxing to 608-266-1096
The comments will be available for public review between the hours of 7:45 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. daily in room 355 of the State Office Building, 1 West Wilson Street, Madison, Wisconsin. Revisions may be made in the proposed changes based on comments received.
Health and Family Services
Medical Assistance Reimbursement for Home and Community-Based Waiver Services
The state of Wisconsin provides payment for home and community-based waiver services provided to certain persons eligible for Medicaid benefits under the authority of Title XIX of the federal Social Security Act. Home and community-based waiver services are provided under section 1915 (c) waivers of certain otherwise-applicable Medicaid state plan requirements. The department currently operates several home and community-based waiver programs that provide services to different eligible populations. Among the programs currently in operation are the Community Options Program (COP-W) and the Community Integration Program II (CIP II), which provide services to elderly persons and persons with physical disabilities, and the Community Integration Program I (CIP IA & IB), which provides services to persons with developmental disabilities.
Under these waiver programs, services are provided to individuals who would otherwise require institutionalization in a nursing home or an intermediate care facility for the mentally retarded (ICF/MR). To receive a waiver from the federal government, the department must demonstrate that expenditures for home and community-based services under this waiver will not exceed expenditures that would otherwise have been made to provide the services in institutional settings. The department has consistently met this requirement and has provided the federal government with documentation of the reduced cost of waiver program services through the federal waiver approval and waiver renewal processes.
Under the home and community-based waiver programs, services are provided by a Medicaid-certified unit of county government, either through county employees or contractors. For these waiver programs the state makes payments to the counties, which may vary depending upon the particular service needs of the individual. In addition, the counties provide local funding for services provided under these programs.
The department is providing notice that it intends to revise the method by which payments are made to counties for services provided to non-elderly individuals with physical or developmental disabilities under the home and community-based waiver programs (CIP I, CIP II and COP-W) by making the system prospective. The department believes that implementing a prospective payment system for these services will better meet the goals of the program and will improve administrative efficiency.
Based on the information currently available, the estimated annual increase in aggregate Medicaid expenditures related to this change is $75 million. The payments made to counties under this revised system will continue to comply with the conditions and limitations specified under the waiver and under federal regulations.
Written comments:
Written comments on the proposed change may be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to:
Department of Health and Family Services
Attention: Home and Community-Based Waiver Program
P.O. Box 309
Madison, Wisconsin 53701-0309
Or by faxing to 608-266-1096
The comments will be available for public review between the hours of 7:45 AM and 4:30 PM daily in room 355 of the State Office Building, 1 West Wilson Street, Madison, Wisconsin. Revisions may be made in the proposed changes based on comments received.
Health and Family Services
Medical Assistance Reimbursement for Certain Dental Services
