Governor Evers Hopes to Expand Medicaid Again

Thursday, February 11th, 2021 -- 11:00 AM

(AP) Gov. Tony Evers will try again to expand Medicaid coverage in Wisconsin.

The Democrat announced Wednesday that his state budget proposal will also include more than $150 million in other health initiatives, including bolstering student mental health support, addressing the opioid crisis and increasing telehealth accessibility.

“Mental and behavioral healthcare is healthcare. Period,” said Gov. Evers. “From our kids to our farmers, to veterans and those working to overcome substance use disorders, mental health support must be a priority for the health, safety, and well-being of our state.”

Under the “Increasing Access to Care” category, the governor will invest $46 million into things like ensuring those with private insurance have access to telehealth services like telepsychiatry.

There will also be funding put into a program to ensure those who are deaf, hard of hearing and deaf/blind to have access to health care services.  The budget added includes the expansion of BadgerCare in order to provide affordable health insurance coverage to uninsured Wisconsinites.

The governor will also invest more than $25 million over the biennium to increase medications and counseling services to those who have substance abuse disorders.  Evers previously called for expanding Medicaid in his 2019 budget, which the Republican-controlled Legislature rejected.

It will likely face the same fate this year.  Evers submits his two-year budget plan to the Legislature on Tuesday.  He has been releasing parts of it in advance, including legalizing medical and recreational marijuana and creating a $500 caregiver income tax credit.

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