Local Partners Celebrate 2023-24 Insurance Enrollment Milestones, More Work to Do
Between March 2020 and May 2023, the number of Milwaukee residents enrolled in Wisconsin’s state health care programs increased by 40.6% when temporary policies for COVID-19 were put in place. During this time, Medicaid coverage didn’t end unless a person moved out of state, died, or asked to leave their program. As a result, 42% of the Milwaukee County population (413,998 residents) was enrolled in a Medicaid/BadgerCare Plus program when these temporary policies ended in May 2023.
From June 2023 through June 2024, all people with Medicaid or BadgerCare Plus coverage needed to see if they could renew their benefits by providing updated information to the state.
“During this time, the Milwaukee Enrollment Network (MKEN), Covering Wisconsin, and a broad array of community partners worked to ensure all Medicaid members in Milwaukee had the information and resources to effectively renew their coverage if eligible – or connect to alternate forms of coverage through employment or the HealthCare.gov Marketplace,” said Justin Rivas, Manager, MKEN, and Director of Community Health Initiatives at the Milwaukee Health Care Partnership (MHCP). “It was an unprecedented collaborative effort.”
A reduction in enrollment was to be expected as people’s circumstances changed during and following the COVID-19 pandemic. Total enrollments decreased by approximately 18% over the 12-month renewal period (down 73,000+ for Wisconsin Medicaid and 64,000+ for BadgerCare Plus). Yet, as of August 2024, enrollments were higher than before COVID-19, with BadgerCare Plus up 13%, a positive indicator of coverage retention overall.
One critical success factor noted by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) was the valuable feedback provided throughout the last year by external partners who work directly with members. Wisconsin changed some operational policies related to renewals, supported enhanced outreach and in-person assistance, and increased transparency by sharing data with community-based organizations.
“Unwinding the temporary pandemic policies offered an unprecedented opportunity to focus on how we could make the renewal process more effective and efficient. One of the things we did was provide partners with regular reports that let them see specific information about how things were going.” said Bill Hanna, Medicaid Director, DHS. “They had more insight than ever before to guide their engagement with Medicaid members. They played a critical part in making sure people eligible for our programs stayed covered.”
Alongside positive indicators of Medicaid/BadgerCare Plus enrollment, Milwaukee County also saw a record number of HealthCare.gov Marketplace enrollments in 2023-24. There were 39,537 plan selections in 2023-24, an increase of 44% from the previous year. It also marks three consecutive years of an increase in Marketplace enrollment.
As the 2024-25 HealthCare.gov Marketplace Open Enrollment period (November 1, 2024 – January 15, 2025) nears, it is important to build on these successes and maintain a strong, collaborative effort to support individuals in maintaining or obtaining health care coverage. The most current data from 2022 estimate that 7.3% of Milwaukee County residents are without health insurance.
MKEN will release promotional and outreach materials in the coming months to support digital and on-the-ground strategies for the upcoming Open Enrollment cycle.
The Milwaukee Enrollment Network is a consortium of more than 100 organizations committed to promoting adequate and affordable health insurance coverage, with a focus on low-income, uninsured and underinsured people in Milwaukee County. MKEN is co-sponsored by the Milwaukee Health Care Partnership and Covering Wisconsin.