SB 475

Currently, the Department of Health Services (DHS) administers the Medical

Assistance (MA) program, which is a joint federal and state program that provides

health services to individuals who have limited resources. Some services are

provided through programs that operate under a waiver of federal Medicaid laws,

including services provided through the BadgerCare Plus (BC+). Under current law,

BC+ provides health and medical services to eligible recipients and has a standard

plan with a larger set of benefits and a Benchmark plan with fewer benefits. The

2013-2015 biennial budget act,

2013 Wisconsin Act 20

(Act 20), made changes to BC+

and MA, and some of those changes were not to go into effect until January 1, 2014.

Another act,

2013 Wisconsin Act 116

(Act 116), delayed some of these changes until

April 1, 2014. This bill again changes the date at which some of the changes take

effect to February 1, 2014.

Under current law, unless DHS has a policy that conflicts with current state law

eligibility requirements, certain individuals are eligible for benefits under the BC+

standard plan. Beginning on April 1, 2014, Act 20 and Act 116 reduce the income

eligibility level for the BC+ standard plan for parents and caretaker relatives from

not more than 200 percent of the federal poverty line (FPL) to not more than 100

percent of the FPL before a 5 percent income disregard is applied. Act 20 and Act 116

also define, beginning on April 1, 2014, for purposes of eligibility of a parent or

caretaker relative, a "dependent child." Under current law, certain individuals who

are not eligible for the BC+ standard plan are eligible for benefits under the BC+

Benchmark plan. Under Acts 20 and 116, parents and caretaker relatives are

covered only under the standard plan beginning on April 1, 2014. The bill changes

the effective date of the income eligibility requirements for parents and caretaker

relatives, the definition of dependent child, and the elimination of the eligibility of

parents and caretaker relatives for the Benchmark plan from April 1, 2014, to

February 1, 2014. Under the bill, however, individuals whose family income does not

exceed 200 percent of the FPL, who apply and are eligible for benefits as a parent or

caretaker relative under the BC+ standard or Benchmark plan before February 1,

2014, and who would otherwise be eligible for benefits as a parent or caretaker

relative except for the income limit continue to be eligible for the benefits that they

were eligible for before February 1, 2014, until April 1, 2014.

Under current law, family income is the total gross earned and unearned

income received by all members of a family. Beginning on April 1, 2014, under Acts

20 and 116, for purposes of determining eligibility for BC+, family income has the

meaning given for household income under a federal regulation, which uses an