A Senate Committee approved a bill Friday that would establish a new temporary health care program called BadgerCare Basic to provide those on the waiting list for the BadgerCare Plus Core plan with basic benefits.

The bill would establish BadgerCare Basic no sooner than Mar. 1, 2010. The basic plan would provide primary and preventative care for the 20,000 people who were placed on the waiting list for the Core program after the enrollment was capped in October.

BadgerCare Plus Core was established for single, childless adults under 65 who are living 200 percent below the poverty line and are not eligible for Medicare. It currently provides health care for 64,000 adults in Wisconsin.

BadgerCare Basic would be entirely funded through individual $130 monthly premiums, unlike the Plus plan that is state-funded.

Those with health insurance available through their employers within the last year would not be eligible for the state program, with the exception of those who have been laid off.

Lindsey Leininger, postdoctoral fellow in the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine, previously told The Badger Herald she believes the BadgerCare programs are important for covering vulnerable populations in Wisconsin.

“These are just super important,” Leininger said in the article. “A lot of people just frankly don’t have access to affordable insurance right now.”

Mark Grapentine, spokesperson for the Wisconsin Medical Society, said the society has no official position on the bill because it is technically only a very small part of the Medicaid program in Wisconsin.

“We, as a society, share the governor’s goals of trying to get as many people covered as possible,” Grapentine said.

Grapentine said they are working closely with the governor and lawmakers on Medicaid issues.

“Where we’re at right now speaks to the broad issue of Medicaid and how important that is to the state,” Grapentine said.

The bill would also make several changes to the two BadgerCare Plus program plans.

Under the Benchmark Plan, coverage for transportation would be broadened to include all medical care, not just emergency medical care. The bill would also add early and periodic medical screenings for recipients under the age of 21.