State Ready For More Low-Income Adults On BadgerCare

The state is ready to enroll more low-income childless adults in its BadgerCare program. Applications are now online for health coverage starting April 1st.

State health officials say there are more than 161,000 childless adults on a waiting list for Medicaid coverage. About half those will get coverage under a BadgerCare expansion that was originally to start in January. That expansion was delayed because higher income participants kicked off BadgerCare could easily not transition to private care sold on the federal marketplace.

Letters regarding BadgerCare went out to both groups, but state and local officials want to reach out to those they may have missed. Amy Mendel-Clemens is with Dane County Human Services. “Some individuals weren’t on the wait list, so there are people who haven’t been on BadgerCare Plus in the past — they didn’t sign up for the wait list — that they could be eligible now,” she said, “and that’s one of the reasons we want to get this information out now.”

The BadgerCare expansion affects those below 100 percent of poverty. For an individual, that means earning less than $11,490 a year.