State's Medicaid HMO program sees enrollment hike. (Wisconsin; health maintenance organization)

Participation in a state plan to enroll Medicaid recipients in health maintenance organizations (HMOs) increased 18 percent from a year earlier.

The number of people enrolled in the Medicaid- HMO program as of Jan. 1 rose to 163,078 from 138,584 in January 1996, said Angie Dombrowicki, chief of the managed care section of the state Bureau of Health Care Financing, which oversees Medicaid benefits.

The 1995-1997 state budget called for expanding the managed care program statewide from five counties initially. Until October 1996, the Medicaid-HMO program was offered only in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Kenosha, Eau Claire and Dane counties. State officials believe the expansion …