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Read. Follow. Verify.Wisconsin Bill Creates BadgerCare Buy-In Option, Basic Health Plan, and State Health Exchange
Last action · March 23, 2026: Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1Sponsors: Chris Larson and 46 others
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What This Bill Proposed
Senate Bill 1121 directs state agencies to create a BadgerCare buy-in purchase option for individuals and small groups, establish a basic health plan for lower-income residents, and set up a state-run health insurance exchange. The Department of Health Services and the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance are tasked with seeking necessary federal waivers and implementing the programs upon federal approval.
Residents with incomes above current Medicaid limits could gain the ability to buy into BadgerCare coverage or access advanced tax credits, while small businesses with 50 or fewer employees would receive an option to purchase group coverage through the program.
- Wisconsin currently utilizes the federally facilitated health insurance exchange platform known as HealthCare.gov for individual market enrollment. context
- BadgerCare Plus is Wisconsin's Medicaid program providing healthcare coverage to eligible low-income adults, children, and families. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Department of Health Services
The department is tasked with developing plans, requesting federal waivers, and implementing the BadgerCare purchase option and basic health plan.
Office of the Commissioner of Insurance
The office is required to establish and operate a state-based health insurance exchange and may promulgate necessary rules.
Small businesses with 50 or fewer employees
Small groups are given the option to purchase group coverage through the BadgerCare purchase program.
Key Facts
- The Department of Health Services must request federal approval to allow individuals above current BadgerCare income limits to purchase coverage through BadgerCare.
- The BadgerCare purchase option must feature a premium rate similar to the average rate paid to managed care contractors and a minimum actuarial value of 87 percent.
- The department must include an option for small groups of 50 employees or fewer to purchase coverage under the BadgerCare purchase program.
- The Department of Health Services must submit a report to the legislature by March 1, 2027, on the status of federal waivers and economic analyses.
Show all 6 facts
- The Department of Health Services must develop a plan for a basic health plan covering individuals with household incomes up to 200 percent of the poverty line.
- The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance is directed to establish and operate a state-based health insurance exchange that includes access to the BadgerCare purchase option.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who would be eligible to purchase coverage through the BadgerCare buy-in option?
Are small businesses included in the BadgerCare purchase option?
What happens to the current federal health insurance exchange under this bill?
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News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Failed in the Senate.
Procedural history
3 actions- Mar 23, 2026SenateFailed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1
- Mar 19, 2026SenateIntroducedRead first time and referred to Committee on Insurance, Housing, Rural Issues and Forestry
- Mar 19, 2026SenateIntroducedIntroduced by Senators Larson, Carpenter, Drake, Ratcliff and Roys; cosponsored by Representatives Johnson, Moore Omokunde, Phelps, Anderson, Andraca, Arney, Bare, Billings, Brown, Clancy, Cruz, DeSanto, DeSmidt, Doyle, Fitzgerald, Goodwin, Haywood, Hong, Hysell, J. Jacobson, Joers, Kirsch, Madison, Mayadev, McCarville, McGuire, Miresse, Palmeri, Prado, Rivera-Wagner, Roe, Sheehan, Sinicki, Snodgrass, Spaude, Stroud, Stubbs, Subeck, Taylor, Tenorio, Udell and Vining
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Show 42 more sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Transition from Federal to State Exchange
The bill directs Wisconsin to move away from using the federally facilitated exchange (HealthCare.gov) by establishing its own state-based health insurance exchange.
Connected Entities
Sources
docs.legis.wisconsin.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 80)
- Controversy75Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz50Current news / social attention level
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