SB 439

Medicaid expansion

BadgerCare Plus and BadgerCare Plus Core are programs under the state's

Medical Assistance program, which provides health services to individuals who have

limited financial resources. The federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

allows a state to receive an enhanced federal medical assistance percentage payment

for providing benefits to certain individuals through a state's Medical Assistance

program. This bill changes the family income eligibility level to up to 133 percent

of the federal poverty line for parents and caretaker relatives under BadgerCare Plus

and for childless adults currently covered under BadgerCare Plus Core and who are

incorporated into BadgerCare Plus in this bill. The bill requires the Department of

Health Services to comply with all federal requirements and to request any

amendment to the state Medical Assistance plan, waiver of Medicaid law, or other

federal approval necessary to qualify for the highest available enhanced federal

medical assistance percentage for childless adults under the BadgerCare Plus

program.

Under current law, certain parents and caretaker relatives with incomes of not

more than 100 percent of the federal poverty line, before a 5 percent income disregard

is applied, are eligible for BadgerCare Plus benefits. Under current law, childless

adults who 1) are under age 65; 2) have family incomes that do not exceed 100 percent

of the federal poverty line, before the 5 percent income disregard is applied; and 3)

are not otherwise eligible for Medical Assistance, including BadgerCare Plus, are

eligible for benefits under BadgerCare Plus Core. The bill eliminates the childless

adults demonstration project, known as BadgerCare Plus Core, as a separate

program.

Transfer to the budget stabilization fund

This bill transfers $151,565,605 from the general fund to the budget

stabilization fund in fiscal year 2021-22.

Miscellaneous project grants

This bill requires the Department of Administration to award grants to eligible

recipients, as determined by DOA, in the following amounts for the following

projects:

1. $2,000,000 for a visitor center in the city of Green Bay.

2. $2,000,000 for a Hmong cultural center.

3. $5,000,000 for historic renovation and accessible access to the Potawatomi

State Park observation tower in Door County.

4. $5,000,000 for a Food + Farm Exploration Center in Portage County.

5. $30,000,000 for a genomic sequencing wing at the State Laboratory of

Hygiene.

6. $15,000,000 for the Blood Research Institute.

7. $4,000,000 for a western Wisconsin forensic center.