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Walworth HHS reports higher Medicaid reimbursements, reduced write-offs and EHR go‑live progress
Summary
HHS reported $4.8 million in insurance/consumer billing revenue for 2024, larger Medicaid WIMCR reimbursements, lower controllable write-offs and a recent behavioral-health EHR go‑live; the board approved fourth-quarter write‑offs.
Walworth County Health and Human Services (HHS) on March 19 presented its administrative services year‑end report, including a revenue update, Medicaid cost-report (WIMCR) results, reductions in controllable write‑offs and progress on a new NetSmart electronic health record system. The board voted to accept fourth‑quarter write‑offs.
Rachel Morgan, Fiscal Support Supervisor, reported the department posted about $4.8 million in insurance and consumer billing revenue for 2024, an increase of roughly $568,000 from the prior year. Morgan identified program shifts that drove changes: the Comprehensive Community Services (CCS) program grew (roughly +$819,000), while the Community Recovery Services program ended (producing a large reduction). She said overall write‑offs declined by about 29% year‑over‑year, with the department’s three controllable categories (timely filing, prior authorization and noncovered providers) making up roughly 17% of total write‑offs in 2024 versus 52% in 2023.
HHS staff described the Wisconsin Medicaid cost report (WIMCR) reconciliation as a continuing source of significant reimbursement. The 2023 WIMCR reimbursement was received in December 2024 and totaled about $1.1 million. The department budgeted $650,000 for anticipated 2024 WIMCR receipts in the 2025 budget, and staff said the final 2024 reconciliation typically posts late in the following calendar year.
Paula Gladden, Compliance and Medical Records Supervisor, summarized compliance activity and record‑request trends. HHS logged nine complaints in 2024 (10 determinations because one complaint included multiple parts); one founded complaint related to HIPAA. There were 18 HIPAA incidents in 2024 (16 low/no risk, one medium, one high); email was the most common incident vector. Open- and medical-record requests rose to 499 in 2024 from 434 in 2023 (about a 14% increase); staff said they expect further growth into 2025 and that one full-time staffer plus a part-time assistant currently support record work.
Alicia Van Dyke, Administrative Services Manager, and IT partners reported the NetSmart EHR public‑health module went live in September 2024 and behavioral health went live Jan. 27, 2025. Staff said billing and some electronic forms have transitioned and that a successful state program audit (CSP program) of combined historic and NetSmart records produced no citations. Remaining work items include migrating outstanding accounts receivable from the old EHR, re‑establishing appointment reminders, enabling credit card processing, finalizing mandatory PPS reporting and rolling out a client portal and mobile case‑management app.
The board voted to accept the fourth‑quarter write‑offs during the meeting.
