An article in today’s Wisconsin State Journal notes that enrollment in the new program for childless adults within BadgerCare Plus is exceeding the state’s projections. The article states that DHS Secretary Karen Timberlake has indicated that they may have to turn to waiting lists in order to keep the program on budget. According to the article, 26,000 childless adults have already enrolled in the BC+ Core Plan since its July launch, a pace that would quickly result in enrollment growing beyond the target of 41,000 participants by next July. One obvious culprit is the sagging economy, which has seen thousands of individuals lose their health insurance coverage along with their jobs. WCCF’s Jon Peacock is quoted as saying that we knew there was a big unmet demand for health care among uninsured adults, but that the state’s notions about the magnitude of that unmet demand undershot the mark. The BC+ Core Plan is helping plug the largest hole in Wisconsin’s health care safety net, as we seek to finish the job of insuring everybody in the state. Because it allows otherwise uninsured adults to seek treatment for health problems before they become severe–and therefore much more expensive to treat–the program, while costly, is a good investment of public resources. For that reason, WCCF thinks waiting lists would be unfortunate.
Early Care & Education: Supporting Wisconsin Families During Children’s Early Years
Regardless of race, place, or income, every child in Wisconsin deserves a strong start in life. This early foundation plays a critical role in life-long health and wellness. But systemic racism and poverty destabilizes families and communities and creates unhealthy conditions and barriers that harm children in their early development. This process of destabilization not only prevents children from having a strong start but can persist over the course of their lives.
