Core Plan Law Suit Moves Forward

In the May 18 edition of the HealthWatch Reporter newsletter, we discussed the continuing dramatic growth the BadgerCare Plus Core Plan Wait List and plummeting enrollment numbers. Since that time, much has happened. The enrollment continues to drop and the Wait List continues to grow, for one. The exchange of letters among Wisconsin Representative Jon Richards and Representative Tamara Grigsby and the Feds highlighted the shortcomings of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS). CMS said the Walker Administration MUST submit a plan by August 1 to the federal government that addresses the large number of individuals falling off the Core Plan. They continued that Wisconsin "will conduct targeted outreach" to get people back onto the Core Plan (after the new restrictive re-enrollment policy begins.) Yet, we would have gone further, and demanded the Wait List be opened, and the "surplus" be invested in the health of the people of Wisconsin. Finally, Legal Action of Wisconsin filed suit. They allege that DHS has violated state and federal law by not enrolling people in the program. The media is running wild with this news, citing the HealthWatch Wisconsin Core Plan Counter to demonstrate the size of the Core Plan Wait List. Below are a few news clippings from this week:

• Shephards Express - State sued for not enrolling BadgerCare participants
• Journal Sentinel - Pair sues state over health insurance aid
• Wisconsin State Journal - Lawsuit alleges state is illegally denying BadgerCare coverage
• WCCF Blog - Lawsuit seeks to lift freeze on BadgerCare for childless adults