Good Guy Walker Wants to Expand Long Term Care Program, Doesn't Tell Media He Was Ordered to lift Cap. What a Con.

UPDATE: I was wrong, but right: Walker is even more desperate than I thought, and lied about why he was restoring and expanding the cap on the state's long term care program, but at the same time, set up the possibility for future draconian cuts via his hatchet man Rep. Robin Vos. This amazing scam was revealed overnight by jsonline:

Gov. Scott Walker announced a plan Wednesday to lift the enrollment cap on a state long-term care program - a move he made two weeks after federal authorities told his administration it had to take that step. Walker touted the $80 million plan … but he made no mention of a recent order from the federal Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, or CMS, directing his administration to lift the cap in the Family Care program.

CMS authorities said Wisconsin needed federal approval to put the cap in place and ordered the state's Medicaid director, Brett Davis, to immediately lift it.

"We are directing the state to identify any individuals not currently enrolled onto the Family Care or Self-Directed Supports waivers since the July 1, 2011, implementation of the newly instituted enrollment caps, and immediately enroll those individuals in the waiver programs," said the letter from Verlon Johnson, the associate regional administrator for CMS' Division of Medicaid and Children's Health Operations.

Democrats blasted the governor for taking credit for the plan after they learned of the CMS letter.
"Talk about political spin, huh?" said Rep. Sandy Pasch (D-Whitefish Bay). "I'm glad he's reversing himself on it. I'm a little put out by his political spin on that."

"The only reason the Walker administration backed down is because they had a gun to their heads," said Rep. Jon Richards (D-Milwaukee). "He's taking credit for something he was forced to do."

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This is one of the most desperate moves I’ve ever seen by a nervous politician.

Expanding the state’s long term care program sounds too good to be true, and probably is.

Scott Walker just signed a law capping the program. Now, he claims he never intended the cap to be permanent. But pulling the cap after just a few months? That’s pathetic. Plus, Walker thinks he can play good cop, bad cop and get away with it. Rep. Robin Vos loves playing the bad guy.

WSJ: The state's long-term care program for the elderly and disabled could soon cover thousands of additional needy residents, if the Legislature approves the $80 million expansion proposed Wednesday by Gov. Scott Walker. A previously planned increase in funding, combined with efficiencies discovered during an audit, would allow the state to expand Family Care to many of the counties currently operating without the safety net, Walker said.

“Efficiencies” like extra money to pay for the expansion while threatening to kick families off Badgercare? We’re not suckers. But the media is eating this thing up, and dumb ass Democratic are swooning. Isn’t there one Democrat who has the courage to say, “I’ll believe it when I see it.” WKOW:



And so enters the bad cop…

The announcement was met with immediate approval by Democrats, as well as advocates for the elderly and disabled. But a noticeable silence from GOP leadership in the Senate and Assembly, along with the outright objection … "Expanding another unsustainable program is irresponsible," said state Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester, co-chairman of the Legislature's powerful budget committee. "Poorly planned, rapid expansions by the last administration are what caused the current budget problem. For future budget health, I'd prefer we take a different course."

So did Walker get the kind of “good” publicity he was looking for? Absolutely, suckers.