Attention Nursing Home Members – WisCaregiver CNA Program Changes
The Department of Health Services (DHS) recently announced changes to the WisCaregiver CNA program. The Program, which has been in effect since 2018, reimburses nursing homes for the costs of CNA training and testing. Successful CNA candidates who remain with their facility employers for at least six months after becoming certified also receive a $500 retention bonus. Here’s what you need to know about the upcoming changes:
- Are nursing homes and assisted living centers impacted by these changes? No. These changes will only impact the portion of the WisCaregiver Careers program impacting our nursing homes. The portion of the program pertaining to Assisted Living Centers and the training of candidates to become Certified Direct Care Professionals (CDCP) is not affected.
- When will the changes take effect? With one exception, the changes will take effect on January 1, 2026. The one exception, on which we previously reported, concerns the $300 “success” bonus that participating nursing homes received for each CNA candidate who successfully completed training and became certified. The “success” bonus ended on September 30, 2025.
- What are the major changes to the Program that will take effect on January 1, 2026?  There are two significant changes:
- Reimbursement Amounts: Per candidate reimbursement will be limited to $700 per person for training and $135 per person for testing. Candidates will have up to three opportunities to pass the competency test. Importantly, this maximum per candidate reimbursement will only apply to facilities having 90% or higher Medicaid occupancy. The reimbursement levels will decline as a facility’s Medicaid occupancy declines. The September 18th powerpoint presentation that we’ve included contains a very helpful chart outlining the reimbursement levels.
- Process for requesting reimbursement: Facilities will request training and testing reimbursement by filing Form F01013 with ForwardHealth.
- What happens between today and January 1st? With the exception of the Success Bonus sunset, the current program remains intact through the remainder of 2025.
Enclosed please find a link to DHS’ September 18th webinar on Program changes, https://vimeo.com/1120934200?share=copy#t=0, as well as the webinar powerpoint and Frequently Asked Questions and Answers that came out of the September 18th presentation:
Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
Questions:Â Call: 833-315-CARE (2273) or email:Â https://wiscaregivercna.com/formnavigator/ or contact Rick at rick@whcawical.org /516-241-2879 (cell/text)
