Wisconsin Expands Children’s Health Insurance Coverage

Wisconsin Expands Children’s Health Insurance Coverage in Individual Health Insurance

Effective today, Wisconsin will expand health insurance coverage to every child in the state.

The new initiative combined three of Wisconsin’s health care programs into one — Medicaid, Healthy Start, and BadgerCare.

Medicaid is the health insurance program for low income residents, Healthy Start is a health care program for pregnant women, infants, and children, and BadgerCare is the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program.

The new program — BadgerCare Plus — will provide affordable health insurance for any child and family, reported the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

“It’s a huge step toward providing cost-effective health care coverage for all children in the state,” said Jon Peacock, the research director for the Wisconsin Council on Children & Families.

The premiums for BadgerCare Plus coverage go as low as $10 monthly, depending on income. Any family with an annual income less than $42,400 pays nothing for coverage. Families earning more than $63,600 a year will pay the full cost of coverage — at $90.74 a month.

In the next year and a half, the program is estimated to cost $50 million — paid by the state and the residents’ premiums.

Most residents will be eligible for the state-sponsored coverage, but there are some exceptions. A family with an employer-sponsored plan won’t qualify if the employer pays for 80 percent or more of the cost.

Illegal immigrants also are excluded from the program. They must live in Wisconsin for five years before they can get BadgerCare Plus coverage. But children of illegal immigrants born in the U.S. will be covered.

So far, health care officials and state lawmakers are optimistic about BadgerCare Plus.

“We’ve done it in a very practical way. This is a great story for us to celebrate,” said Kevin Hayden, secretary of the Department of Health and Family Services.

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