SB 708

This bill makes a number of changes with respect to benefits for which

low-income state residents are eligible.

BadgerCare Plus

BadgerCare Plus (BC+) is a Medical Assistance (MA) program, administered

by DHS, that provides health care benefits under two different plans, depending on

the basis for a recipient's eligibility, to recipients who satisfy financial and

nonfinancial eligibility criteria. The first plan provides the same benefits that are

provided, and requires the same cost sharing that is required, under regular MA.

The second plan, called the Benchmark Plan, provides specified benefits with

specified cost sharing requirements. The bill requires recipients under both plans

to pay an annual deductible of $500 and coinsurance of five percent of costs exceeding

the deductible. DHS must request a waiver from the secretary of the federal

Department of Health and Human Services if DHS determines that it needs a waiver

to implement the new cost sharing.

Food stamp program

Under current law, DHS administers the federal food stamp program, now

known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which assists

eligible low-income individuals to purchase food. The bill requires DHS to

promulgate rules that specify the foods that an individual may purchase under the

program. DHS is prohibited from allowing soft drinks and snack foods, such as

potato chips, to be purchased under the program and must require individuals to

purchase a lower-priced brand of a food item that is available in both lower-priced

and higher-priced brands. In addition, the bill makes it a Class A misdemeanor

(punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 or imprisonment for up to nine months, or both)

for a person to spend the night in the house of a member of a household that is eligible

for food stamps if the person's income is not considered in determining the eligibility

of the household for food stamps. These changes will not be implemented, however,

if DHS determines that a waiver is needed, unless federal law allows a waiver to be

requested and a waiver is granted.

Wisconsin Shares

The Wisconsin Works (W-2) program under current law, which is administered

by the Department of Children and Families (DCF), provides work experience and

benefits for low-income custodial parents who are at least 18 years old, as well as a

child care subsidy program, known as Wisconsin Shares, under which an individual

who is the parent of a child under the age of 13 or, if the child is disabled, under the

age of 19, and who satisfies other eligibility criteria may receive a child care subsidy

for child care services that the individual needs to participate in various educational

or work activities. Current law provides that no more than 12, or in some cases up

to 16, hours of subsidized child care may be authorized per child per day. The bill

imposes a limit on the amount of child care for which a subsidy may be provided of