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Health Care Policy Recommendations

Good health is necessary to allow parents to be productive, and access to quality health care gives children the healthy start they deserve. Kids who receive good health care whenever they need it are more likely to arrive at school ready to learn, and leave childhood prepared to contribute to their communities.

Reducing the number of uninsured families benefits taxpayers and those who do have insurance because it allows the health care system to focus on preventative care, rather than on more costly treatment of people who have already gotten very sick. It reduces the utilization of expensive emergency room care and hospital bad debt, which creates costs that get shifted to those who do have health insurance.

By expanding the state’s BadgerCare program to cover all children, funding innovative strategies to increase access to dental care, approving parity for mental health services, maintaining adequate funding for the state’s health care safety net programs and eliminating racial and ethnic disparities, we will make significant progress towards ensuring that all kids have access to quality health care.

Improve Health Outcomes by Ensuring Every Family Has Access to High Quality Health Care and Preventive Services

Implement and improve BadgerCare Plus to ensure meaningful access to health care for all children:  The new BadgerCare Plus program has the potential to make quality, cost-effective health care services available to nearly all children in the state.  However, to reach the finish line – quality health care coverage for all of Wisconsin’s children – the state needs help from community organizations, health care providers and the business community to raise awareness about the program and to assist in enrolling eligible families.

BadgerCare Plus can be strengthened by extending coverage to immigrant children and ensuring that families who only have access to expensive employer-sponsored plans they can’t afford are not automatically excluded from BadgerCare Plus.  In addition, the governor and legislature need to adequately fund Medicaid and BadgerCare Plus and ensure that these critically important health services are not eroded. 

Fund innovative strategies to increase access to dental care:  Having health insurance does not always translate into access to needed health care services. Sometimes the needed services are simply not available close enough to home. Dental care is a prime example. Most low-income children do not have access to dental care, even though they may be covered by insurance. Untreated dental problems among children have been tied to poor performance in school and trouble with social relationships, both of which can have a devastating effect on future well-being and economic success. Wisconsin should increase its investment in innovative dental service programs, many of which are done in partnership with public health clinics. We should also implement strategies to increase the number of dentists who serve low-income and underserved parts of the state.

Eliminate racial disparities in access to high quality, culturally competent, preventive health care.  Wisconsin has substantial racial and ethnic disparities in health care outcomes. Eliminating these disparities will require a long-term commitment to action on many fronts. The state should reform its health care spending to strongly emphasize the prevention and management of chronic health care conditions like asthma and diabetes, which are particularly prevalent among low-income and minority children. Preventable problems like asthma attacks and diabetes lead to school absences and medical costs, putting at-risk kids at even greater risk of falling behind in school. An important step is to ensure that all children have a medical home – a consistent primary health care provider. This will help children get cost-effective treatment and preventive care to keep them healthy.

Do you have a health care story to tell or know someone who does?
WCCF is seeking to interview familes and individuals who lack health insurance
and who might be covered under health care proposals being considered by the legislature. For details, click here.