People enrolled in BadgerCare will get a letter alerting them to changes in eligibility for the program on Monday.
More than 90,000 BadgerCare recipients are getting the letters telling them their income may be too high to stay on the program.
Medicaid director Brett Davis says the letters will include information about the federal marketplace where private health insurance can be purchased with federal subsidies.
“We're very worried about continuity of coverage and want to ensure a smooth transition into 2014,” says Davis. “It's one of governor's goals overall and this is one of our efforts to accomplish that.”
State officials originally said initial letters might not go out until November. Groups like Wisconsin Council on Children and Families, which opposed the Medicaid changes, worried this would be too late. Under health reform, people are required to have insurance by January and can start signing up for the marketplace in October.
The Council's Jon Peacock questions the accuracy of the state's computer systems for checking BadgerCare eligibility. “Some of the standards that are going to be required for determining eligibility next year aren't part of the state's software system right now.”
Davis says the system is still being tweaked. He says people who don't qualify for BadgerCare now may be back in the program if their income drops.
“There will be some individuals who may get letters that end up being eligible for BadgerCare because life events happen,” says Davis. “This is one of our attempts that we're making to just encourage people to apply for insurance through the marketplace.” Wisconsin is lowering eligibility for BadgerCare to 100 percent of poverty. That amounts to $11,500 per year for an individual.
