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Posted: Fri 9:44 AM, Oct 19, 2012
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Wisconsin BadgerCare Plus Program Faces Financial Woes

Posted Friday, October 19, 2012 --- 9:45 a.m.

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- At least three of the four organizations that manage Wisconsin's BadgerCare Plus program say they're losing money on it.

United HealthCare is dropping its contract with the state within weeks, and Molina Healthcare Inc. is warning it may need to do the same. Both say they're losing millions of dollars on the program because the state isn't paying nearly enough to cover the claims filed by its BadgerCare Plus patients.

A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report (http://bit.ly/RbPyQX ) says the state has cut payment rates to the organizations by 11 percent last year and this year.

The state Department of Health Services says it's working to develop rates for next year to make sure adequate options are available.

BadgerCare Plus is a Medicaid program. It covers low-income families with children under 19.

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Information from: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, http://www.jsonline.com

Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.

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  • by Bill Location: Baraboo on Oct 19, 2012 at 03:07 PM
    Get the government out of the doctor patient relationship. Keep lawyers out of malpractice cases. Stop runaway prescription costs. If you think it's bad now wait, watch the cost soar when Obamacare kicks in. Remember Doctors Practice "PRACTICE" Medicine.
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  • by WIBadger on Oct 19, 2012 at 01:18 PM
    Wouldn't it be nice if instead of the millions of taxpayer dollars wasted on the recall nonsense, those dollars could have been used for these types of social programs. In addition, I agree with Kati that limitations need to be implemented to keep this program alive.
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  • by Kati on Oct 19, 2012 at 10:20 AM
    Wisconsin needs to take initiative and overhaul our welfare system. Start by requiring recipients to pass drug tests. Run BadgerCare like private insurance. Cap how much people can use, how often they can go to the doctor and hospitals for minimal things. I personally know many families on medical assistance and the majority of them run to doctors offices and hospitals when their kid gets a bee sting, a cold, or a 101 fever. It's such a waste. Stop allowing it to happen!
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