The U.S. Senate voted 61 to 39 Thursday to pass a deficit-neutral bill that provides funding to states for Medicaid relief and education. The House plans to take up the bill, H.R. 1586, next week, probably on Tuesday, August 10. Although House passage seems likely, it is by no means assured.A WCCF report issued Thursday examines the role that enhanced federal Medicaid cost-sharing has played in helping Wisconsin cope with a very large drop in employer-sponsored insurance during the recession. It analyzes BadgerCare Plus enrollment growth beginning on Oct. 1, 2008, which was the first day that the enhanced federal cost sharing for Medicaid took effect and roughly when job losses began to accelerate.

During the 20-month period from that date through the end of May 2010, the WCCF analysis reveals the following:

• Wisconsin experienced a net loss of 141,100 jobs.
• Total BadgerCare Plus enrollment (including children, parents and pregnant women) also increased by 141,000, or 25 percent (not including the new 50,000 childless adult coverage, which was not directly affected by the FMAP increase).
• More than two-thirds of the increased enrollment since that date was among parents and children below the poverty level (which is $22,050 for a family of four).

Ken Taylor, WCCF’s executive director, said the increased enrollment in BadgerCare Plus over the last two years indicates why federal assistance for states is so important during a recession. “Without the enhanced federal cost-sharing for Medicaid, tens of thousands of Wisconsin families who lost jobs and their insurance during the recession probably would have been unable to enroll in BadgerCare Plus.”