OK sought on drug tests for benefits

MADISON - Gov. Scott Walker pared back his overhaul of state health programs Wednesday but stuck to his main goal: making Wisconsin the first state in the nation to require needy but ablebodied adults to work and submit to drug tests to get coverage.

Walker officially asked President Donald Trump’s administration Wednesday to sign off on the governor’s proposals to move more single adults off state BadgerCare Medicaid coverage and into the workforce. The centerpiece of those measures is the governor’s plan to screen childless, able-bodied BadgerCare recipients for drugs.

“This application is a step in the right direction, and we’re continuing to build on Wisconsin’s legacy as a leader in welfare reform,” the Republican governor said in a statement.

Walker said his proposals only apply to able-bodied adults and offer training for the jobless and treatment for those who are on drugs. Critics say they will cost taxpayers more than they save, trigger costly lawsuits and fail to boost the state’s economy the way other investments might.

Republicans on the Legislature’s budget committee approved the proposal last month on a party-line vote, so a go-ahead from the Trump administration is one of the few remaining hurdles to putting the measure into practice.

State Rep. Jimmy Anderson (D-Fitchburg) said the state doesn’t require business owners to take drug tests to get state help and shouldn’t make needy residents do so either.

Democrats have pointed to the drug testing already happening in Wisconsin Works, or W-2, which aims to move poor people into jobs. As of March, about 1,900 W-2 participants had been screened for drugs, with only nine of those — less than one-half of 1% — referred for treatment and none successfully completing it, according to the Legislature’s nonpartisan budget office.

Starting in April 2019, the changes could affect 148,000 childless adults in Wisconsin with incomes below the federal poverty level — $12,060 a year for a single adult.

Under the proposal, the state would screen applicants with questions about illegal drug use and then, based on their answers, test roughly 4,000 of them for it. Those who fail a drug test and refuse substance abuse treatment would have their coverage rejected.

After taking comments in recent weeks, Walker made changes to his proposal:

Waiving initial drug testing for BadgerCare applicants who agree up front to treatment for substance abuse. In another change, applicants who fail a drug test and initially reject treatment could quickly regain coverage if they reconsider and accept help.

Reduce the number of BadgerCare recipients who have to pay a premium. Walker is proposing a single $8 premium for those making between $6,030 and $12,060 a year.

Charge an $8 copay for all emergency room visits, dropping a provision that would have required $25 copays for every visit to an emergency room after a patient’s first use of it.

It will take at least 75 days for the Trump administration to respond to Walker’s request. Walker also needs support of the full Legislature.