Gov. Jim Doyle announced Wednesday Wisconsin will receive approximately $10 million toward health-insurance funding for children from modest-income families.
This funding is the result of a bill extending the State Children's Health Insurance Program, a bipartisan legislation approved by the U.S. House of Representatives and signed by President Obama Wednesday.
The bill provides nearly $33 billion nationally to children whose parents do not qualify for Medicaid but cannot afford private insurance for their children.
Doyle said the BadgerCare Plus program, Wisconsin's version of SCHIP, was struggling from lack of sufficient funds.
If this bill had not passed we would have to face the really harsh choice of either having children leave the program or picking up that insurance with state dollars ... it would have been devastating to budget,"" Doyle said.
The bill signed Wednesday will continue coverage for seven million children already covered under the program and will insure an additional four million children.
In addition, the bill lifts the ban on funding to states that allow children of illegal immigrants to apply for the program.
According to Obama, this is the first step toward universal health care.
U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., is an advocate of health-care reform and worked hard to get this measure passed.
""For the first time during my tenure in Congress, I see real promise that the Obama Administration and this Congress will work together to achieve [universal health care],"" Baldwin said in a statement.
The $10 million will help cover the increased cost of health care in Wisconsin. Doyle said this money will not clear up $10 million in Wisconsin's budget, which faces a $5.7 billion deficit, for other programs.
