Health and Mental Health

Wisconsin law authorizes multiple approaches to the delivery of emergency medical services (EMS). An EMS provider may be organized as a municipal agency, frequently within a municipality’s fire department, or may be organized as a private company or nonprofit corporation. Services may be staffed with paid or volunteer members, or a combination of both. The Department of Health Services plays a large role in approving and supporting EMS plans, and generally oversees the network of emergency response to facilitate integration with local hospitals.

Medical Assistance (MA), also known as “Medicaid,” is a public health care program administered by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in partnership with the states. MA is authorized under the federal Social Security Act. Its costs are paid from a combination of state and federal funds. Each state administers its own unique version of the program, providing health care and longterm care services to eligible individuals within parameters established by CMS. The program accounts for about 15 percent of all health spending in the United States, in a given year.