Gov. Evers’ State of the State Put Kids and Families First

by | January 24, 2019

Home 9 Health Care 9 Affordable Care Act (ACA) 9 Gov. Evers’ State of the State Put Kids and Families First ( Page 17 )

Kids Forward applauds Governor Tony Evers for proposing a budget that puts kids and families first and that seeks to address the challenges kids and families of color face. He offered bipartisan proposals to restore two thirds funding for K-12 education, increase mental health services in schools, reform the criminal and juvenile justice systems, give working and middle class families a tax cut, and increase access to quality, affordable health care by expanding Badger Care.

All but one of these priorities has support on both sides of aisle—expanding BadgerCare. For some reason Republicans in the Wisconsin legislature have decided expanding access to health care is a partisan issue. It isn’t. Red states like Arkansas, Idaho, and Kentucky have all expanded Medicaid. Wisconsin should too.

Due in large part to the Affordable Care Act, Wisconsin’s uninsured rates for both adults and children have decreased over the past decade, but there are still wide disparities between white residents and Black, Asian, Latinx, and Native American residents. For Latinx and Native American Wisconsinites, the uninsured rate is about four times the rate for white people. With Wisconsin home to some of the nation’s worst racial disparities, Governor Evers’ focus on reducing disparities that kids and families of color face is a welcome change because these issues have gone unaddressed for far too long.

We are thrilled that Governor Evers is committed to making good on his campaign promise to expand BadgerCare to 76,000 Wisconsinites and use those hundreds of millions of dollars in savings to invest in other critical services, such as education, transportation, and housing.

Many of the thousands of people who will have access to health insurance through BadgerCare work for companies that do not offer affordable health insurance or can’t afford private coverage on their own. Having BadgerCare will make it easier for them to see the doctor when they get sick, pay for prescriptions to keep them healthy, and protect them from bankruptcy in the event of a medical emergency.

Wisconsin is one of only 14 states that are not taking their fair share of federal funds to expand health care. Both bright red and deep blue states have prioritized their state’s health over politics and decided to expand Medicaid. It’s time Wisconsin follow their lead and expand BadgerCare.

Kids Forward
Kids Forward

Join us to build a Wisconsin where every child and family thrives.

Recent

Early Care & Education: Supporting Wisconsin Families During Children’s Early Years

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.

Mental Health: A Behavioral Health System that Better Supports Counties and Schools

Mental Health: A Behavioral Health System that Better Supports Counties and Schools

Everyone in Wisconsin, regardless of what county they live in, deserves to live in a community that supports their health and wellness, including access to quality, affordable mental health and substance use disorder services. Governor Evers’ proposed budget expands access to behavioral health care, strengthens schools’ abilities to provide mental health supports to students, invests in peer support, and provides millions in funding to county behavioral health services.

Sign up for Emails

Your address helps us identify your legislators and the most relevant messages to send you.