The state Assembly passed the BadgerCare Plus Basic bill Wednesday morning which will give health insurance coverage to more than 20,000 uninsured Wisconsin residents.

The plan would extend a basic level of coverage to people on the waiting list for the BadgerCare Plus Core plan, which gives insurance to around 64,000 single, childless adults not eligible for Medicare in the state. The Core program filled up so quickly that enrollment was capped last October.

The Basic plan would be funded through $130 monthly premiums paid by members, unlike the Core plan, which is state-funded. Residents could apply for the program if they have not been eligible for health insurance through their employers for the past year, except those who have been laid off.

The bill passed in the Assembly with a 50-47 vote, after passing in the Senate 17-16 in February.

The Assembly passed an amendment Wednesday morning related to the disclosure of benefits and cost-sharing, while also setting a date of Jan. 1, 2014 for termination of the program.

The bill will now go back to the Senate, where it will need to be approved before it heads to Gov. Jim Doyle to be signed into law.

The bill has seen a lot of opposition, mostly by republican legislators who say the premiums would not be enough to cover the full cost of the program. They said it would be better to focus on lowering the cost of private insurance instead of expanding government-controlled programs.

“If you took that plan and you walk it into [The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance], they would laugh you out of the building because there would not be enough funds to support claims,” Sen. Ted Kanavas, R-Brookfield, said at the Senate floor session.

Larry Pheifer, executive director of the Wisconsin Academy of Family Physicians, said he supports the bill and sees it as part of a the larger health care reforms that protect vulnerable populations. He does not think it would affect the amount of taxes people pay.

“We are supportive of this bill from the standpoint of access to care,” he said. “From how I understand it, there’s a narrow scope of individuals that would qualify.”

University of Wisconsin professor in the School of Medicine and Public Health Bobbi Wolfe said in an email to The Badger Herald she also believes the bill would be a positive step for the state. It will cover people who will eventually gain insurance through the new federal health care reforms, but do not have it currently.

Mark Grapentine, executive director of the Wisconsin Medical Society previously told The Badger Herald they do not have an official stance on the bill, but that they “share the governor’s goals of trying to get as many people covered as possible.”