Amid other proposed changes to BadgerCare, Wisconsin's 2015-2017 state budget includes drug testing for childless adults on the state's Medicaid program, reports WPR.
Under the proposal, people who refuse to take or fail a drug test would be barred from receiving Medicaid benefits, according to the report. Those who fail the test would be referred to a substance abuse treatment program.
Opponents of the proposal argue the testing will have negative effects on healthcare coverage and addiction treatment. They say the money spent on drug testing should be used instead on treatment programs.
"It may be very good politics for a governor's race, but that's mostly what it is — it's horrendous public policy," Robert Kraig, executive director of liberal advocacy group Citizen Action of Wisconsin, told WPR. "It sets the state back both in terms of healthcare coverage and in terms of our approach to substance abuse disorders."
Rich Brown, MD, a substance abuse prevention expert at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, said mandatory drug testing would function in opposition to a set of Republican-authored bills called the HOPE Agenda, which aim to combat opioid abuse in Wisconsin, according to the report.
"Withholding Medicaid from people who test positive for drugs would go against the intent of HOPE legislation and deprive people of the most effective treatments for their addictions," Dr. Brown said, according to the report.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, R, said the testing is meant to identify people who need substance abuse treatment. The state began the process of obtaining a waiver from the federal government to implement mandatory drug testing this week, according to the report.