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Vernon County health director warns proposed Medicaid changes could reduce coverage for hundreds of thousands
Summary
Health Director Amy told the county board that state and federal Medicaid changes could sharply reduce reimbursements and access to care, and warned of local program cuts if funding drops; she urged planning for community-health-worker strategies and preservation of mandated services.
At a board meeting, Vernon County Health Director Amy told supervisors the department is preparing for major funding uncertainty if proposed Medicaid changes proceed. "It's projected over the next 10 years that over 276,000 Wisconsinites could lose their coverage," she said, warning the change could shrink retroactive eligibility and make basic services harder to access.
Amy outlined the health department's current work—inspection partnerships with DATCP, environmental and occupational health investigations, and outreach including a preparedness-kit event with Amplify Health—and described staffing and budget pressures. She said the department currently relies on state and federal reimbursements for roughly 60–70% of its operations and that those funds cover vaccination outreach and on-site testing services. "Just this year, we lost 50 percent of our childhood vaccine," she told the board, stressing outreach now depends on one-time ARPA funds that may not be renewed.
Board members asked whether the county could shift services or face liability for unmet statutory mandates. Amy said mandated services (for example, communicable-disease follow-up) would be difficult to cut without legal and public-health consequences and that the county is exploring community-health-worker roles to help residents navigate benefits and care. She also noted the health department is pursuing a three-year Wisconsin Partnership Community Impact Grant with Stonehouse Counseling Services to support outreach for people experiencing intimate-partner violence.
The director provided local program counts and outreach examples: she said the department lists 164 tourist rooming houses under DATCP oversight and described a recent three‑year audit of the agent program. Supervisors thanked Amy and encouraged continued coordination with state and federal representatives on the issue.
