New report: 1 in 3 kids in rural Wisconsin insured by Medicaid

Judith Ruiz-Branch

As Congress considers cuts to Medicaid, a new report showed one in three children living in rural areas of Wisconsin are insured by the health insurance program.

The nationwide study from Georgetown University's Center for Children and Families used census data to compare how many people living in rural areas are insured by Medicaid.

William Park Sutherland, senior policy analyst for the advocacy group Kids Forward, explained northern Wisconsin counties above Highway 29 have higher-than-average rates of children enrolled.

"I think we really are leveraging our future by targeting a program," Sutherland cautioned. "One of its most important roles is protecting the health of kids in small towns and rural areas and large cities."

He added potential cuts will make it harder for health care providers, hospitals and health systems to continue to provide care, especially in rural communities where significantly higher barriers to care already exist.

About 1.5 million Wisconsinites are insured through BadgerCare, the state Medicaid program. It makes up about 26% of the state budget providing health care coverage for low-income residents from birth to age 64.

"There's just no way to cut out this much of the program and not hurt children," Sutherland asserted. "And not hurt seniors and not hurt people with disabilities who depend on Medicaid, along with parents and caregivers."

He noted cuts would also risk increasing the number of uninsured people, up the amount of medical debt and financial insecurity in the state and potentially deter people from seeking care.