Hazard pay, paid medical leave, and health coverage for frontline health care workers, eligibility expansion under the Medical Assistance program, granting rule-making authority, and making an appropriation. (FE)

State coverage for treatment of uninsured health care workers and insurance coverage for health care workers The bill requires the Department of Health Services to provide state payment for the testing and treatment for health care workers who have been diagnosed with or are under investigation of having COVID-19 or any other communicable disease.

State coverage is available only if the individual has no other form of coverage or funding for treatment available from insurance, a health care coverage program, or under any grant, contract, or other contractual arrangement.

The bill requires every health insurance policy and every self-insured governmental health plan that generally covers testing for and treatment of infectious disease to provide coverage of testing for and treatment of COVID-19 or any other communicable disease for a frontline health care worker who has been diagnosed with or is under investigation of having COVID-19 or any other communicable disease without imposing any copayment or coinsurance. A health insurance policy is referred to in the bill as a disability insurance policy. For purposes of required insurance coverage and for the state coverage for uninsured health care workers, the treatment that must be covered is any treatment that is medically necessary and reasonably related to COVID-19 or any other communicable disease or complications from COVID-19 or other communicable disease.

Medicaid expansion This bill accepts the Medicaid expansion by changing 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. 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. The bill requires DHS 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. DHS must ensure that any increased funding resulting from the bill is used to improve access to and affordability of health care and to support health care quality for Wisconsin residents.

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 a 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.

This proposal may contain a health insurance mandate requiring a social and financial impact report under s. 601.423, stats.