Proposed Bill in the State Legislature Would Review BadgerCare Recipients' Status Every Six Months

Wednesday, April 12th, 2023 -- 10:01 AM

(By Anya van Wagtendonk, Wisconsin Public Radio) BadgerCare Plus recipients would no longer be automatically re-enrolled in the public health care system and the state would reconsider their status every six months under a proposed GOP-authored bill currently circulating the Wisconsin statehouse.

According to Anya van Wagtendonk with the Wisconsin Public Radio, the bill's co-authors, Rep. William Penterman, R-Columbus, and Sen. Rob Stafsholt, R-New Richmond, argue the bill will reduce the ranks of a public benefit that swelled during the COVID-19 pandemic, and thereby cut wasteful spending.

Under a federal state of emergency declared in March 2020, federal law prohibited states from disenrolling people from Medicaid programs. The proposed Wisconsin bill argues that sharpening eligibility requirements will save the state money by removing people from the program who do not need it.

Under the proposed bill, a BadgerCare recipient's eligibility to receive benefits would be reassessed every six months using state data. Any recipient found ineligible would be removed from the program by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and could not re-enroll for six months.

If it passes the Legislature, it is unlikely to be signed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who has repeatedly advocated for BadgerCare expansion. Under the federal Affordable Care Act, BadgerCare expansion would bring additional federal dollars into the state and cover more people.

According to state figures, 1.6 million Wisconsinites, or a quarter of the state population, were enrolled in BadgerCare or Medicaid, programs that cover low-income, pregnant, disabled and elderly people.

Thirty percent of people covered by Medicaid are children and three-quarters of adult recipients have jobs, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The proposal comes days after Wisconsin voters overwhelmingly backed a nonbinding referendum that said able-bodied and childless adults must look for work in order to receive public benefits.

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