Health group not surprised BadgerCare Plus nearly full

MADISON (WPR) The relative speed at which a new Medicaid program in Wisconsin filled up doesn't surprise a group of community health centers.

The Badgercare expansion to childless adults is nearly full after 3 months of operation. Stephanie Harrison expected it to happen sooner. As head of the Wisconsin Primary Health Care Association, she says the 17 federally funded community clinics in the state see firsthand how great demand is for medical care. Harrison says the perception is people put off health care because they don’t have an insurance card, but judging from the demand for the CORE program, a lot of people want and need health care.

CORE is the name of Wisconsin's Medicaid program providing health coverage to adults without children. Anticipating a last-minute push for applicants to get in under the wire, state officials are urging people to sign up online, instead of calling busy phone lines. After Friday, those eligible will be put on a waiting list. State health administrators have 45 days to come up with a bare-bones alternative coverage plan to serve childless adults who seek medical care. The governor has said it will be financed with premiums, not tax dollars.

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Information from Wisconsin Public Radio, www.wpr.org