Friday, Mar. 3, 2023
Is Wisconsin the only Midwest state to not accept the federal Medicaid expansion?
Both Wisconsin and Kansas have not adopted the federal Medicaid expansion, which expanded Medicaid coverage to those with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level.
Despite not adopting the expansion, Wisconsin allows all uninsured adults who fall below the federal poverty line to be eligible for Medicaid, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
In his previous budgets and a special session, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has proposed funding an expansion of Medicaid, but it has failed to make it into the final budget under the Republican-controlled Legislature.
In his 2023-25 budget, Evers has again proposed accepting the expansion. The Evers administration estimates the move would save the state $850 million in its first year and add 897,000 low-income people to its Medicaid program, including 30,000 people who currently do not have insurance.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- KFF Status of State Medicaid Expansion Decisions: Interactive Map
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics Midwest Census Region : Midwest Information Office : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- KFF The Coverage Gap: Uninsured Poor Adults in States that Do Not Expand Medicaid
- PBS Wisconsin Highlights from the 2023 Wisconsin budget plan proposed by Evers
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Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.
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