Gov. Scott Walker signed a special session assembly bill Friday that would extend BadgerCare coverage for 77,000 participants scheduled to transfer to the federal exchange.
The bill gives BadgerCare participants a three month extension to find health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
Walker said in a statement the bill would give people more time to find coverage due to a “failed” rollout. He also said the bill was unique among states that refused federal funds because Wisconsin does not have a coverage gap.
“In 2014, everyone living in poverty will be covered - for the first time - under Medicaid in Wisconsin,” Walker said in the statement.
Democrats continue to challenge the claim that everybody in Wisconsin will have health insurance.
State Sen. Robert Jauch, D-Poplar, released a statement Thursday saying the governor let 83,000 childless adults, scheduled to move onto BadgerCare in January, “slip through the cracks.”
“Governor Walker has offered the legislature a false choice that simply makes no sense,” Jauch said.
The Wisconsin Legislature was called into a special session in December after Walker recommended the state align its BadgerCare and Affordable Care Act deadlines with the federal governments deadlines.
