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Insuring the Nation's Children:
Highlights of Child Health Insurance Provisions in the 1997 Federal Budget Bill
Wisconsin's response to this federal initiative is called BadgerCare. Wisconsin has tried to be innovative in its approach to insuring children. BadgerCare enrolls all members of low income families where there is at least one child under 18. This makes good medical sense, and sets Wisconsin on the road to guaranteeing healthcare insurance for more of its most vulnerable families. As of January 2004 there were over 114,000 individuals enrolled in this program.
A good reference detailing these child health insurance programs nationwide:
Other legislation to improve access to health care
The Health Insurance and Portability Act (Jul 96)
Related Links:
State Maps of BadgerCare Enrollment: Ratio of Enrollees to Estimated Number of Participants
Summary: The Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services received federal approval to implement the BadgerCare plan -- Wisconsin's proposal to utilize Title XXI funding. Title XXI is the new KiddieCare insurance initiative intended to insure more children. These are mostly children who currently would not qualify for Medicaid because their parents are working, albeit in low income occupations without health insurance. BadgerCare began on July 1, 1999. Click here to see Wisconsin's Department of Health and Family Services general information page for potential enrollees: BadgerCare Info Click here for summary page about BadgerCare. Click here for BadgerCare enrollment numbersBadgerCare is different from the programs designed in almost all other states. Rather than just covering eligible children, BadgerCare also extends coverage to the family members of eligible children. If you are interested in linking to the federal program and finding out what other states are doing look at Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services website
Click here to go to Powerpoint presentation on KiddieCare that explains the federal program and includes suggestions about outreach for low income families. KiddieCare Curriculum
Who's Covered? All families with children who have an income below 185% of the federal poverty level, who do not have health insurance are encouraged to apply. Once enrolled, families may remain in the program until the family income exceeds 200% of the federal poverty level. BadgerCare is expected to cover 46,200 uninsured, low-income Wisconsin residents, including 23,900 children and 22,300 parents.
When and how does enrollment begin? On July 1, 1999, the state will begin taking applications from families hoping to quality for BadgerCare. The state has planned an extensive outreach effort to inform applicants of how, when, and where to apply. When that information becomes available, it will be shared here. For a discussion of some special issues related to enrollment of rural kids, click here RuralKids
Other information about BadgerCare and Medicaid:
Under BadgerCare, Wisconsin's current Medicaid program, Medical Assistance,
remains an entitlement. An additional 89,000 children have been identified during
BadgerCare outreach who qualify for the Medicaid program (Medical Assistance).
The single most important goal of BadgerCare is to provide health care to uninsured
children. The state believed that to achieve this goal required the coverage
of all family members. Kenneth Thorpe has estimated that family-based expansions
bring in 75% of eligibles, while child-only based expansions bring in only about
45% of those eligible (cited in Bartels, Peggyand Boroniec,Pris, "BadgerCare:
A Case study of the elusive new federalism,"Health Affairs , Nov/Dec
1998: 165-169).
For information about Medicare managed care see Curriculum
Wisconsin Medical Assistance Managed Care Expansion (Jul 96)
Map of counties and MA Managed Care Expansion program (Feb 97)
Related Links:
New Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage - http://www.medicare.gov/MedicareReform
Medicare Prescription Drug Bill and Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 - PowerPoint
PowerPoint presentation from Medicare officials detailed major changes to expect with the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, including changes in how Medicare will cover prescription drug costs. Information in notes on slides offers more detailed information than the brief outline on the slide pages themselves.
Medicare HMOs (July 99)
Medicaid expenditures and beneficiaries: National and State profiles and trends
Related Links:
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