Highlighting the Human Face of BadgerCare Expansion

For months now, Citizen Action of Wisconsin has been fighting for BadgerCare expansion. And although expansion did not happen in the budget, we are not done fighting. 

Earlier this summer, Governor Tony Evers, Senator Jon Erpenbach, and Representative Daniel Riemer introduced BadgerCare expansion legislation. We are under no illusion that the bill’s path forward will be easy. So far, Republican legislators have been unwilling to publicly support expansion, even if they are open to the idea. That is why we are redoubling our efforts to highlight the real-life consequences of failing to expand BadgerCare, and the ways in which our neighbors and community would benefit from expansion.

At Citizen Action, we know that the way to move hearts and minds on this important issue is to put the human faces of BadgerCare expansion front and center. Take, for example, the story of our Co-Op Organizer Noah Reif. When the expansion bill was introduced in August, Noah told us her story and explained why she supports expansion: 

“BadgerCare expansion would mean almost 1,400 hard-working Eau Claire County residents would be eligible to receive quality, affordable care. As an individual, I benefited from state health insurance plans when I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 2 years old. Simply put, I would not be here if not for Wisconsin’s investment in me and my family. BadgerCare expansion is an opportunity to extend that life-saving investment to other people like me who need it.”

If you have a health care experience that you would like to share with us, please reach out to our organizer Mireya Mercado at [email protected]. 

Here are some of the ways that BadgerCare expansion would help Wisconsinites:

• Improve access to preventative care and save lives: Reducing the number of people without insurance means more people can receive preventative care. Not only does this make our health care system more effective and affordable for everyone, but it helps prevent unnecessary deaths – especially those caused by disease, accidents, injuries, and drug abuse.
• Reduce insurance coverage disparities: The Affordable Care Act cause significant gains in health care coverage among Wisconsinites. However, significant racial disparities in coverage still exist in our state. For example, Latinx Wisconsinites are uninsured at rates three times higher than the state’s White residents. Expanding BadgerCare eligibility to 138% of the Federal Poverty line would go a long way in reducing this disparity.
• Improve health care coverage for children: When Scott Walker forced tens of thousands of parents off BadgerCare in 2014, the number of uninsured children living above the poverty level increased sharply. Wisconsin was once a national leader in insuring children. With BadgerCare expansion and an investment in children and families, we could be again.
• Prevent financial hardships for low-income, working adults and families: The Legislative Fiscal Bureau estimated that over 80,000 additional adults would be covered by BadgerCare if the program were expanded up to 138% of the Federal Poverty Line. Many of the individuals who would benefit from expansion are eligible for marketplace or employer-sponsored insurance under the current system, but cannot afford the premiums, deductibles, or copays of the plans available to them. Every day, people are forced to choose between paying for health care coverage, or necessities like food, housing, and other bills. Choosing health care over other needs can be a terrible financial burden. Expanding BadgerCare would help ease that burden for tens of thousands of Wisconsinites.

We believe that everyone in Wisconsin ought to receive and be able to afford high-quality health care when they need it. We also know that many people in our community face tremendous barriers to receiving the health care they deserve. At Citizen Action, we are working hard to elevate the needs and voices of those individuals. 

If, like us, you believe that health care is a human right and you want to help us put a human face on this issue, please consider joining one of our Organizing Co-ops.