Federal officials recently released the 2015 Federal Poverty Income Guidelines, better known as the federal poverty levels (FPL).  States and the federal government use the guidelines to determine eligibility for many public assistance programs, such as Medicaid, BadgerCare and child care subsidies.

The following three tables show how the new poverty guidelines affect income eligibility limits for various programs and different families sizes.  In addition to showing the annual income figures, there are tables converting those into monthly and hourly income.

The guidelines are adjusted each year, based on inflation. This year the poverty level is up 1.5% for a family of three. At that family size, the poverty level is now $20,090, and it increases $4,160 for each additional family member.

One of the many places where the guidelines are relevant is in the ongoing debate over whether Wisconsin should use the federal funding provided by the health care reform law to expand BadgerCare eligibility for parents and childless adults. That federal funding would pay almost all of the cost of covering childless adults below 138% of FPL.

Based on the new 2015 poverty level figures, closing the gap in BadgerCare seems tobe a very easy choice, since it would assist adults meeting the following modest limits on income:

• For a single person the upper limit in 2015, which is now just $11,770 per year, would be increased to $16,243.  That’s equivalent to $7.81 per hour at a 40 hour per week job.
• For a married couple without children an income limit of 138% of FPL would raise the ceiling to $21,983, which amounts to 40 hours per week at $10.57 per hour.  The current limit for a couple (based on the 2015 FPL) is just $15,930.

The Wisconsin Council on Children and Families has incorporated the 2015 poverty levels into an updated infographic showing the income ranges to be eligibile for BadgerCare and Marketplace insurance subsidies. That document is available in both English and Spanish.

Jon Peacock