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Wednesday, April 22, 2026

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Clinics involved in the research trial saw an 11 percent decrease in opioid prescriptions, while those not participating saw an 8 percent increase.
STATE NEWS

Researchers reduce opioid prescriptions by 8 percent at UW Health clinics

By Luisa de Vogel | Feb. 8, 2018

Overdose deaths as the result of prescription opioid use rose 600 percent in Wisconsin from 2000 to 2016, according to the Department of Health Services. However, UW-Madison researchers think they have developed a program to curb overdose-related deaths in the state by laying out guidelines for when and how doctors should prescribe opioids. “Reducing the overall supply (of opioids) is important from the population health perspective,” Dr. Randall Brown, an associate professor of family medicine, told the Wisconsin State Journal. The program includes mental health screening to identify and properly treat patients who may be at a higher risk for opioid addiction as a result of conditions such as depression and yearly urine tests.

 Experts warn that unsustainable student borrowing is reaching crisis levels across the country. Default rates at UW-Madison have actually fallen over the past year.
STATE NEWS

UW students may see gap in aid after the demise of a popular student loan program

By Jessica Lipaz | Feb. 6, 2018

The Perkins Loan Program, which provided $25.4 million in low-interest loans to UW System students, has expired, with seemingly little hope of congressional renewal in sight. The program offered unique financial services to students, offering a comparably low interest rate of five percent and a nine-month grace period after graduation before payments begin, all without requiring any annual funding, as all loans given are provided by those already paid back. “Eliminating this program, to put it clearly, will affect who can and cannot go to college,” said Nick Webber, government relations director for the UW System Student Representatives.

In a special session called by Gov. Scott Walker, the state Assembly passed a series of reforms to the state’s welfare system, adding work requirements, drug testing, and asset value limitations to various social programs.
STATE NEWS

‘The deserving poor:’ Walker’s welfare reform plans highlight perceptions of poverty

By Andy Goldstein | Feb. 1, 2018

“Public assistance should be more like a trampoline and less like a hammock,” Gov. Scott Walker announced to roaring applause at his State of the State address, introducing a package of new reforms to the welfare system. These reforms would add a series of stricter requirements for Wisconsinites to qualify for welfare and public support, with the goal of easing people off of government dependency and into the mainstream economy. But these policies have more than administrative importance, as they also suggest a unique understanding of what poverty is like, and what sorts of values are assigned to different people grappling with it. To Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who testified in support of the reform proposals, any good welfare system is one that “promotes accountability, encourages personal responsibility, prevents fraud and abuse,” and “opens the doors of opportunity for people who can work.” Debates within social policy often wrestle with questions of who is considered worthy of help. “Deservingness has historically been tied to ability and willingness to work,” said Marcy Carlson, a professor in the UW-Madison Department of Sociology and researcher at the Institute for Research on Poverty.

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