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Bills from the 2023–24 session

Senate Bill 716

Expanding eligibility for the Medical Assistance program and making an appropriation. (FE)

Stopped in committee

It never got a ⁠, so it never came up for a vote. To try again, a lawmaker would have to start a new bill.

  1. Introduced, passed

    Nov 21, 2023

  2. Committee, stopped here

    Stopped here. No public hearing was held.

  3. Senate vote, not reached

  4. Assembly vote, not reached

  5. Governor, not reached

  6. Law, not reached

Latest entry in the official record, Apr 15, 2024: “Failed to pass pursuant to ⁠”

It never got a hearing in the Senate Committee on Insurance and Small Business. See every bill that never got a hearing this session.

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What it would have done

Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.

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 the 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 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, as a separate program as of October 1, 2023.

Read the full summary

2017 Wisconsin Act 370 requires by statute that DHS implement the BadgerCare Reform waiver as it relates to childless adults as approved by the federal Department of Health and Human Services effective October 31, 2018. The 2015-17 and 2017-19 biennial budget acts required DHS to submit a waiver request to the federal Department of Health and Human Services authorizing DHS to take certain actions, including imposing premiums on, requiring a health risk assessment of, and limiting the time of eligibility for recipients of BadgerCare Plus under the childless adults demonstration project waiver. Act 370 required DHS to implement the childless adults BadgerCare Reform waiver by no later than November 1, 2019. If the Joint Committee on Finance determines that DHS has not complied with the implementation deadline, has not made sufficient progress in implementing the BadgerCare Reform waiver, or has not complied with other requirements relating to approved waiver implementation, Act 370 allows JCF to reduce from moneys allocated for state operations or administrative functions DHS's appropriation or expenditure authority, whichever is applicable, or change the authorized level of full-time equivalent positions for DHS related to the Medical Assistance program.

The bill eliminates the statutory implementation requirement for the BadgerCare Reform waiver, including the deadline and penalties, eliminates the statutory requirement for DHS to seek the waiver, and allows DHS to modify or withdraw the waiver.

Who's behind it

11 senators are its ⁠. All 11 are Democrats.

23 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 34 names

Authors (11)

Signed on in support (23)

What happened

  1. Apr 15, 2024

    The session ended, and the bill died with it.

  2. Nov 27, 2023

    1 more representative signed on in support.

  3. Nov 21, 2023

    Sent to the Senate Committee on Insurance and Small Business.

  4. Nov 21, 2023

    Introduced in the Senate.

See the official record, word for word
  1. Nov 21, 2023 · Senate

    Introduced by Senators Hesselbein, Smith, Agard, Carpenter, L. Johnson, Larson, Pfaff, Roys, Spreitzer, Taylor and Wirch; cosponsored by Representatives Riemer, Vining, J. Anderson, Andraca, Bare, Clancy, Conley, Emerson, Hong, Jacobson, Joers, Madison, Moore Omokunde, Neubauer, Ohnstad, Ortiz-Velez, Palmeri, Ratcliff, Shankland, Shelton, Sinicki and Subeck

  2. Nov 21, 2023 · Senate

    Read first time and referred to Committee on Insurance and Small Business

  3. Nov 27, 2023 · Senate

    Representative Haywood added as a cosponsor

  4. Apr 15, 2024 · Senate

    Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1

Terms on this page

Committee

A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.

More in the glossary

Public hearing

A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.

More in the glossary

Senate Joint Resolution 1

The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.

Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1. More in the glossary

Legislative Reference Bureau

The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.

Official term: LRB analysis. More in the glossary

Author

A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Official term: Author, coauthor. More in the glossary

Signed on in support

Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.

Official term: Cosponsor. More in the glossary

From the Wisconsin Legislature's official record, checked Sep 15, 2026. See the source

Committee

A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.

More in the glossary

Public hearing

A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.

More in the glossary

Senate Joint Resolution 1

The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.

Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1

More in the glossary

Legislative Reference Bureau

The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.

Official term: LRB analysis

More in the glossary

Author

A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Official term: Author, coauthor

More in the glossary

Signed on in support

Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.

Official term: Cosponsor

More in the glossary