Due to an large number of applicants, Gov. Jim Doyle announced Monday the state will suspend the application process to the BadgerCare Plus Core Plan at 12 p.m. Friday.
The BadgerCare Plus Core Plan provides access to health care for uninsured adults with an income below 200 percent of the poverty level: $22,000 for a single individual or $29,000 for a married couple, without dependent children, according to Doyle.
“The Core Plan was our final step … to ensure that 98 percent of the citizens of Wisconsin had access to health care,” Doyle said in a press conference.
However, Doyle added some conditions from the federal government created restraints on the extent of the plan.
“Our plan is required to be budget neutral, so there is a limit on the number of people we can enroll,” Doyle said.
This restraint caused the suspension of enrollment, which requires applicants to enroll by Friday or else they will be put on a waiting list.
This limitation itself was not unexpected, said Seth Boffeli, spokesperson for the Department of Health Services.
“The fact that we got a cap is not surprising,” Boffeli said. “The fact that we got a cap in three months, however, is.”
Boffeli said DHS estimates it will be able to cover about 54,000 adults.
Erin McBride, Univer-sity of Wisconsin con-sumer science lecturer and attorney at ABC for Health, a public interest law firm working to ensure access to health care for families and kids, said the DHS has received 500 to 600 applications for the Core Plan every day since the enrollment process opened, estimating a current demand of 60,000 people and growing.
“I think the state underestimated the need,” McBride said. “There are a lot of people who need coverage and didn’t have any other options.”
However, McBride said she commends the state on this initiative and feels the expansion of the plan is a step in the right direction, especially due to the budget neutrality requirements which pre-vent tax increases.
“It isn’t perfect, but it’s better than nothing,” McBride said. “We can’t just stop there though; the state needs to put more money into it and make sure people are covered.”
McBride also said there are multiple ways citizens can help, such as contacting representatives and the state to voice their concerns.
Still, Doyle said health care reform must come from a higher level than the state.
“We have stretched all boundaries and still there are people falling through the cracks,” he said. “States cannot tackle health care alone. We need comprehensive reform at the national level.”
According to Boffeli, the DHS is currently working to create an alternative for those on the waiting list. He said this plan would be very basic as well as self-funded, costing between $50 and $100 per month.
