As we head into September and the beginning of a new school year, there are a number of opportunities to connect and engage with families around enrolling their children in BadgerCare (Wisconsin’s Medicaid/CHIP program). For Wisconsin children to reach their full potential in school and beyond, we need to make the most of those opportunities.
Parents and caregivers will soon be in the midst of filling out school registration forms-many of which already ask questions about school lunch and BadgerCare enrollment. In addition, as the school year begins, many children will also need sports physicals and updates on vaccinations. These are opportune times to connect families with resources provided by schools, community groups, health care providers and the WI Department of Health Services (DHS) to help ensure their children have health insurance coverage.
Over the past few years, research on the effects of access to Medicaid coverage for children has found a number of positive results. These include improved learning and significant long-term gains such as better health and greater economic success as an adult. More detail on the research around the positive effects of Medicaid coverage on children can be found in a report from last August from the Georgetown Center on Children and Families.
A little over 4% of children in Wisconsin remain uninsured, and about 9.6% of children who are eligible for BadgerCare+ are not currently enrolled in the program. Nationally, research shows that almost half of all uninsured people who are eligible for Medicaid or CHIP live in families with at least one school-age child. This makes school-based outreach and enrollment efforts important tools in reaching the remaining uninsured children in Wisconsin.
However, schools and community groups are only part of the solution to helping more children enroll and remain enrolled in BadgerCare. As WCCF outlined in a recent report about Wisconsin losing its status as a national leader in access and enrollment in health insurance for children, the state must also adopt administrative simplifications around enrollment and renewal processes for the Wisconsin Medicaid program as well as ensure that the parents of these children have access to affordable health insurance
Enrollment Resources for
Parents and Caregivers
How to Apply: BadgerCare+ (Wisconsin Department of Health Services)
Free Local Enrollment Help Listings by County (Covering Wisconsin)
Outreach and Enrollment Resources for Schools and Community Groups
www.coveringwi.org (Covering Wisconsin)
Guide to School-Based Outreach for Health Coverage Enrollment (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)
My Campus Our Coverage (Enroll America, Young Adult Health Coverage Resources)
BadgerCare Eligibility Matrix (English)
BadgerCare Eligibility Matrix (Spanish)
Sashi Gregory
