Gov. Evers visits Ashland, talking healthcare and budget

In an effort to make significant investments to increase the access to and affordability of healthcare in Wisconsin, Governor Tony Evers visited Memorial Medical Center in Ashland Tuesday.

“From supporting moms and babies to ensuring our kids have mental health supports at school to expanding BadgerCare and providing affordable coverage to tens of thousands of Wisconsinites, our budget works to expand access to quality, affordable healthcare across our state,” said Gov. Evers. “Not only will expanding BadgerCare help save lives, improve health outcomes, and bring more than a billion dollars of savings to our state but it will also enable us to reinvest those savings into our healthcare systems, our communities, and our people. That’s a win-win-win for Wisconsin, and it’s long past time we join red and blue states across the country and get this done.”

A key part of the governor’s proposal is expanding Medicaid, known as BadgerCare in Wisconsin, by covering all low-income individuals who earn incomes between 0% and 138% of the federal poverty level. As a result, the state would be able to provide affordable health insurance coverage to nearly 90,000 Wisconsinites, including approximately 30,000 individuals who are currently uninsured.

“When you’re in a more rural area, the chances of someone internally dismissing their mental health issues I think is stronger just because of the isolation or what you find them or rural areas,” said the Governor. “And that is something, you know, really going to make it even worse to that so that there’s not enough resources available.”

More information regarding the governor’s proposals to expand BadgerCare, support the state’s healthcare systems, infrastructure, and workforce, invest in his “Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies” initiative, and bolster mental and behavioral health supports is available here.