RESOLUTION ASKING GOVERNOR EVERS AND THE WISCONSIN STATE LEGISLATURE TO APPLY FOR A WAIVER FROM FEDERAL RULES EXCLUDING INSTITUTIONAL STAYS FROM MEDICAID COVERAGE

Federal rules exclude patients age 22-64 years of age from Medicaid coverage in an Institute for Mental Disease (IMD), resulting in high costs to Wisconsin counties for individuals with mental illness who require short-term placement. The IMD rule works against the provision of necessary health care treatment, and path to recovery, for young and middle-aged adults with brain disorders.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued an invitation to states to apply for a waiver of this exclusion, allowing states to receive federal reimbursement for the cost of treatment in an IMD. The Sauk County Board of Supervisors recommends urging the Governor and the Legislature to submit an application for a waiver from CMS of the Medicaid IMD exclusion.