Cheap health insurance for low income earners

You can buy insurance policy to cover just about any health conditions, but only few health insurance product gives value for investment. The cost of health insurance policy you buy doesn't determine its effectiveness only your ability to do your home work-finding out, careful assessment and final decision makes the difference.

If you can't afford regular health insurance plan, you can try Badger Care plus. 

What is Badger Care Plus?
 

Badger Care Plus (BC+) is a state/federal program that provides health coverage for (Wisconsin families) either free or low-cost health insurance to individuals and families who are uninsured Badger Care Plus (BC+)  replaces the former AFDC-Medicaid, Healthy Start and Badger Care. Potential BC+ .


Certain requirements need to be met in order to qualify for Wisconsin's Badger Care health insurance. Some of these requirements include:
  
    * You are a U.S. citizen or an eligible alien and you live in Wisconsin

    * Children under 19 years of age
    * Pregnant women
    * Parents and caretakers of children under 19
    * Young adults leaving out of home care (such as foster care)
    * Parents and caretaker relatives whose children have been removed from the home and placed in out of    home care.
     * Not having access to health insurance through your employer or spouses job where the employer pays 80% or more of the premium for the insurance.

Badger Care Plus has two major health care benefit plans:

• Standard and Benchmark:The Standard Plan is for families with income at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). 
• The Benchmark Plan:Which provides more limited services than the Standard Plan, is for families with income above 200% of the FPL, and for self-employed parents and Caretakers.

Standard plan members may be asked to pay a share of the cost of services. The co-pay amount ranges from $0.50-$3.00 per service.

Benchmark plan members will be asked to pay a share of the cost of services provided to them. The co-pay will be charged once per office visit. Under the Benchmark plan, the member may be required to pay co-pays and deductibles prior to receiving services.

The following additional services are available for anyone who is applying for Badger Care Plus:

   1. ACCESS online application at: access.wi.gov
   2. Face-to-Face Interview at the local county/tribal office
   3. Mail-In
   4. Telephone Interview


How Is Monthly Income Determined?

Badger care plus calculation is done based on your income after subtracting certain income deductions and disregards from your gross (pre-tax) income. These deductions depend on your circumstances, but may include some dependent care costs, work-related expenses, court-ordered child support and/or other deductions. An Economic Support Worker will help you with these calculations. 

If your income is above certain limits you may have to pay a premium but it won’t be more than 5% of your monthly income after deductions. Most families do NOT pay a premium.


After subtracting allowable deductions and disregards, your household’s remaining monthly income must be less than stated in the table below: Monthly Income Limits (after deductions) Increase May 1, 2005

Household Size               1            2           3        4            5            6        7            8           

Monthly Income Limit $1,436 $1,926 $2,416 $2,907   $3,397  $3,887  $4,377   $4,868 

Badger care plus provides the same health care coverage as Medical Assistance. Covered services include doctor visits, immunizations, pre-natal care, hospital care, preventive care, emergency services, dental and vision services, prescription drugs, and more.

The fore-going is only a review and is not guaranteed to be correct, as policies and regulations are constantly changing.