Local lawmakers, advocates talk about BadgerCare expansion

EAU CLAIRE — Local lawmakers are discussing bringing legislation which would expand access to BadgerCare, the state-run health insurance program for low-income residents.

Members of Citizen Action of Wisconsin, a Wisconsin advocacy group, spoke to the bill and the challenges regarding health insurance costs on Friday.

Kate Felton, a small business owner in Eau Claire, highlighted her own challenges of healthcare costs that she faced two days before her personal business was set to open. She said she was fortunate enough to have her husband’s insurance plan to front most of the costs at the time, but when that plan went away, they had to find a second health insurance plan and take on healthcare debt in the process.

“My health has slowly recovered since then, but I still spend countless hours on the phone to ensure that my pre-authorization’s in order, coordinating to recode things and doing everything I can to make sure I don’t face unexpected charges, only to be told by my insurance company that I need to talk to my hospital and vice versa,” she said. “Despite my due diligence, I still have claims denied that I have to sort out.

“This is all to say this system is not working. It is not working for small business owners. It’s not working for anyone.”

Kristie Tweed, health care action coordinator for Citizen Action, said there is currently a health care crisis, adding that health insurance prices have been rising exponentially every year in a profit-based market.

While BadgerCare exists as an option for some, there are requirements for eligibility.

Accessibility to BadgerCare is currently set at the federal poverty guideline: single residents who make under $15,960 a year and families of three who make less than $33,000. The BadgerCare Public Option bill homes to raise the value to over $30,000 for a single person and a little over $60,000 for families.

“It expands the basic plan for those folks,” Tweed said. “It also offers other people who are finding their premiums unaffordable to buy in on a sliding scale. And the reason it’s called an option is because you go and compare the plans. The difference is the other plans are insurance-based, where there is profits built in. There is no profit built into the Medicaid system, and the government controls the cost.”

While some Democratic lawmakers have called for the expansion of BadgerCare, Republican legislators have expressed concerns with increasing the access to the state’s Medicaid program arguing the potential for long-term financial risks.

Rep. Christian Phelps, D-Eau Claire, said by opening BadgerCare to more people, it could presumably make the health insurance system more solvent and give people with concerns about access to healthcare peace of mind knowing they have access to health insurance.

“I strongly believe that healthcare should be a right and not a profit opportunity,” he said. “Access to health insurance is one of the most unpredictable and unstable things that prevents people from going to the doctor, prevents people from affording their healthcare visits that they’ve had and prevents people from even knowing what to expect month-to-month as far as their ability to access care.

“The BadgerCare Public Option would be the biggest step that Wisconsin has ever taken toward treating healthcare like a human right instead. It would provide stability, it would make sure that people’s ability to go to the doctor is the main determinant in whether they go to the doctor and not their ability to afford it.”

An expansion bill has been discussed during legislative sessions in the past. The state assembly was adjourned this past February, and the bill was not brought to the floor this year.

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