MADISON - State health officials are warning lawmakers about a dramatic increase in enrollment in the state's Medicaid program as the coronavirus outbreak pushes more people into financial distress.

Wisconsin Department of Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm told members of the Legislature's finance committee Tuesday that lawmakers will need to act to handle the expected surge of services needed from the state's program that serves more than 1 million people.

In December, the department projected costs in the state's Medicaid program would exceed what is budgeted by $39.8 million over the next two years.

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But now, the projection is "obsolete," Palm said in a memo.

"Hospitals, nursing homes, and other health care and long-term care providers will be stretched to the limit as they care for individuals suffering from COVID-19," she wrote.

Lawmakers are expected to take up legislation within the next two weeks to prepare state programs for a surge of people who are sick and jobless, and business owners with little or no business.

Gov. Tony Evers has proposed a $706 million piece of legislation that makes scores of changes but Republican leaders of the Legislature are unlikely to take up that bill.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said Monday he is planning to craft legislation after receiving an analysis of Wisconsin's share of a $2 trillion federal stimulus package, which Vos' spokeswoman said had not arrived as of Tuesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Senate leaders on Tuesday were preparing for a virtual floor session to be held soon.

Under the federal action, Wisconsin will receive $150 million each quarter to pay for Medicaid costs but lawmakers must act quickly to adjust state rules to get the federal money.

As of Tuesday, the state health department reported more than 1,350 cases of coronavirus in Wisconsin. At least 25 people have died, according to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel analysis.

At the same time, closures under Evers' order to close non-essential businesses have led to more than 220,000 unemployment claims since March 15, two days after the governor's order.

For the same 15-day period a year ago, there were just under 13,000 claims filed. That's about 1,000 fewer claims than the average each day during the period this year.

On Sunday, there were just over 12,000 claims filed, and on Monday, nearly 25,000 claims were filed.

Monday’s total was by far the most in a single day since efforts to blunt the spread of COVID-19 were put in place.

Monday’s total was also just under a quarter of the 115,679 new claims that were filed for the entire week of March 22-28.

Evers asked President Donald Trump to declare Wisconsin a disaster to help address health and unemployment needs, allowing state officials to tap into federal programs.

Journal Sentinel reporter Joe Taschler contributed to this report.

Contact Molly Beck at molly.beck@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MollyBeck.