Veterans Groups Warn Against BadgerCare Cuts

Veterans groups are concerned about Governor Scott Walker’s proposal to tighten eligibility for the state’s Medicaid program, BadgerCare.

Veterans and their spouses are a small percentage of all those who could be affected, but advocates say they illustrate how challenging finding alternative coverage could be. A total of 87,000 people would be ineligible for BadgerCare under Governor Walker’s proposal. 1,200 are vets; another 500 are spouses.

Mark Flower is with Dryhootch, a group that provides peer counseling for veterans.

“I guess part of that reason, talking about family members, is that they’re a big part of our force to begin with. Because they support our members who are willing to do the things we ask them to do.”

Active National Guard members, reservists and military retirees have military health insurance but their spouses may not and often turn to BadgerCare. And vets may find that civilian doctors are unwilling to accept the Pentagon health plan known as Tricare.

A report by the General Accountability Office shows fewer civilian doctors are accepting Tricare because they are unfamiliar with it, or don’t like the reimbursement rate for care.