“No one had any inkling this was happening,” Michael
Blumenfeld told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “We are just scratching our
heads. Why would you do this?” Mr. Blumenfeld spoke for the Wisconsin Family
Care Association in early spring of 2015.
The frail elderly, disabled, and their families learned the
governor sought to privatize the successful Family Care and IRIS programs,
handing them over to a few large insurance companies.
The birth of this idea happened in secret.
The Department of Health Services (DHS) Secretary – charged
with shepherding the plan through the legislative process – acknowledged to the
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that “she learned of the proposal only when the
governor’s budget was released.” Evidently her staff also knew nothing of the
plan.
“None of them knew anything about this,” said Barbara
Beckert of Disability Rights Wisconsin. “They are in a state of shock.”
In December 2014, the governor’s office invited advocacy
groups to a meeting to discuss what they would like to see happen with the
programs. Jason Endres and his spouse Julie of Eau Claire attended that
meeting.
“We were never listened to,” Jason said. “The governor did a
complete 180 when the budget came out.”
Later an email circulated around the Capitol revealing that
the governor’s office directed the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau to
write budget language dismantling Family Care and IRIS programs. Governor
Walker sidestepped the public agency budget process entirely. He ignored the
advocacy/agency councils set up to design changes to long-term care programs.
His proposal would upend a critical safety net for almost
60,000 of our state’s most vulnerable citizens without their consultation.
According to an analysis done by the nonpartisan Legislative
Fiscal Bureau, “The administration did not solicit the recommendations of the
Long-Term Care Advisory Council before or during the development of the Family
Care/IRIS 2.0 proposal.”
The Council had requested meetings, but was not granted
input.
Days after the budget came out, Jason, Julie along with
other IRIS recipients and their families started the Save IRIS citizen advocacy
effort to inform people about the proposed changes to their critical programs.
Thousands of people from around the state participated in two disability
awareness days and a SAVE IRIS rally at the Capitol.
During the spring of 2015, hundreds came to testify during
the public budget process. More than 200 statewide and local organizations
jointly passed a resolution against the governor’s plan.
Then the Joint Finance Committee met to vote. Jason related
what he saw: “During the Executive Session they all talked about it. Talk [for
the governor’s proposal] didn’t go all that great as far as getting rid of it.
All of a sudden [Assembly Speaker] Robin Vos walked in the room. And the mood
changed. The Republicans went into a little meeting room within the Joint
Finance Committee room. Then they all came back out and everything had changed.
Now they were going to get rid of IRIS. Not five minutes later they voted to
get rid of IRIS…I was infuriated.”
For Jason, Julie, and thousands like them, IRIS means a
sense of pride about determining for themselves how and whom assists them with
daily care most of us can do ourselves. The programs help people stay and
function in the community like everybody else.
After the final budget vote, the DHS Secretary scheduled
meetings essentially to tell advocates to get on-board. Jason told me about an
IRIS recipient who was “ousted from the table” and “read the riot act” because
she refused to support the administration’s plan.
Jason then learned of a mysterious meeting in the governor’s
office between representatives of big insurance companies expected to benefit
from the governor’s plan, DHS officials, and Republican budget committee
members. Thursday night DHS Secretary Rhodes withdrew the plan.
“This gave us a huge uplift,” said Jason. Julie added, “This
is a major victory!”
For over a year our disabled and elderly struggled with the
stress of uncertainty. Home care workers were also affected. Many left for
other jobs, which created a huge shortage of workers for the disabled who need
help for basic functions.
The unconscionable actions by the governor and his
legislative allies caused chaos in so many lives. However, a fighting spirit
brought about the death of their very ill-conceived idea.
Madison Senate Office Senator Kathleen Vinehout Room 108 South State Capitol Madison, WI 53707-7882
Telephone:
608-266-8546 877-763-6636 Fax:608-267-2871 |
Walker and his cronies make me sick. God forbid one of their loved ones needed this program you can bet the farm they wouldn't touch the program with a ten foot pole.
ReplyDeleteRobin Vos walks into the room and the s**t goes south. Why am I not surprised.
ReplyDelete