Just over a million people in Wisconsin are covered by health insurance through Medicaid programs, the majority through BadgerCare Plus.
Thanks to a federal provision, those who signed up for BadgerCare just before the COVID-19 pandemic were guaranteed coverage for the duration of the federally-declared emergency. But late last year, legislators in Washington separated that coverage from the federal emergency status.
This ended coverage for those enrollees at the end of March. And, data from the state Department of Health Services shows that Medicaid enrollment here has grown by almost 40% since the start of the pandemic. What’s happening now is what they term an “unwinding” of services and enrollment.
Bobby Peterson is a Madison public interest attorney and health care benefits counselor with Madison-based ABC for Health. He joins host Andy Moore on the Friday Buzz to explain the “unwinding” of services and enrollment.
Photo courtesy Chali Pittman / WORT News on Flickr.