Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

Childhood Cancer Lantern
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Wisconsin program

Medicaid without counting parents' income (Katie Beckett)

Full Medicaid for a child under 19 with substantial care needs, regardless of parents' income.

What it is

Full Medicaid for a child under 19 with substantial care needs, regardless of parents' income.

Katie Beckett is another Medicaid route when ordinary BadgerCare Plus does not fit because of income. Parents' income and savings are left out; the child's own income, disability and care needs are what the specialist reviews.

Eligibility rules
  • Your child must be under 19 and meet Social Security's disability definition.
  • Only your child's own income counts, and it must be $2,982 a month or less.
  • Care must meet the level provided in a hospital, skilled nursing facility, intermediate care facility or long-term care facility.
  • Home care must be safe, appropriate and no more costly than institutional care.
What you get
  • No copays for covered care.
  • Hospital care, chemotherapy, medicines and approved care at home.
  • Parents' income and savings do not count, and your child has no savings test.
If you decide to apply
  1. Your social worker can help you decide whether to talk with a Katie Beckett specialist at 888-786-3246 about an assessment.
  2. Have your child's ID, clinic contacts, medical-record releases F-03096 and F-03096B, and a daily care note ready.
  3. Describe your child's care during the specialist's video assessment, or request a home visit.

Wisconsin Katie Beckett program: 888-786-3246 · Official page ↗

Good to know

A cancer diagnosis alone does not settle the disability and care tests. Private insurance does not block this route.

Other details
  • This route uses fee-for-service Medicaid rather than enrollment in a Medicaid health plan.
  • The specialist uses the clinical records and functional screen. The oncology team can describe what an ordinary day and night involve.
  • A denial may concern disability or level of care. The notice identifies the decision and appeal date.
  • Your social worker can help the Katie Beckett specialist confirm whether any premium applies, what information is still needed and the expected assessment and decision dates. A denial notice has a separate appeal deadline; the current program page gives 45 days to appeal a denial.
  • Once approved, coverage lasts 12 months unless your child turns 19 or you leave Wisconsin. Ask the specialist for the start date and whether earlier bills can be covered.
  • There is no waiting list; applications are worked in the order received, and the specialist can say how long the queue is.

Federal background: A Medicaid option you may hear called Katie Beckett.

Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Could our child's daily care qualify for Katie Beckett, what are the benefits and drawbacks, and would you help us apply if it fits?”

Why I’m asking: I want to know whether our child's care needs open coverage without counting what we earn.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Apply and say "Katie Beckett". Sign the records release, book the video or home visit, and describe an ordinary day of care honestly.

Your social worker

The oncology team writes what the care at home involves and hands over the records. The social worker can start the application with you.

The care team

The chart and a written description of the daily care carry both the disability and the level-of-care decisions.

Who decides
The Katie Beckett programme at the Department of Health Services. An eligibility specialist does the functional screen and a disability review of the medical records.
Ask your social worker
“Our income is over the BadgerCare Plus limit. Can we apply for Katie Beckett Medicaid this week, and can the team write down what the care at home involves?”

How to apply

First step: Call 888-786-3246 or apply at access.wi.gov and say "Katie Beckett Medicaid". Ask the oncology team the same week for a written description of the care your child needs at home.

  1. Call 888-786-3246 or apply at access.wi.gov in the first two weeks and say "Katie Beckett".
  2. Sign the medical-records release forms so the specialist can read the chart.
  3. Ask the oncology team to write what the daily care at home involves, for the level-of-care decision.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Apply at access.wi.gov or call 888-786-3246. An eligibility specialist meets you on a video call, or at home if you ask, completes the functional screen and reviews the medical records.

What to gather

  • Your child's birth certificate or ID and Social Security number
  • The oncology team's contact details and clinic names
  • The signed records release forms F-03096 and F-03096B
  • A note of what the daily care at home involves

How long: Applications are reviewed in the order they arrive. The state publishes no deadline for the assessment and no measured waiting time, so ask for a timescale when you apply.

What a yes looks like

A letter saying your child is approved, then a ForwardHealth card in the post.

What a no looks like, and the next move

A refusal on the disability decision or on the level of care. Ask which one, ask the oncology team for more detail on the daily care, and appeal by the date on the notice.

Watch out

  • Two decisions have to be made, a disability one and a level-of-care one, so start early.
  • This route is fee-for-service, so your child does not join a Medicaid health plan through it.
  • Private insurance does not stop a child qualifying, so do not drop a work plan first.

Dates that change this

2027-01-01: The child's income limit updates in January 2027; the amount is not published yet.

2026-09-10: The child’s own countable income is at or below $2,982 monthly in 2026; parental income is not deemed. (not yet confirmed against the final rule)

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

Full Medicaid with parents' income and assets ignored. Only the child's own income counts, against $2,982 a month, and there is no asset test for the child.

  • $2,982/month — The child's own monthly income limit (the institutional limit) for 2026

Covers: Hospital and clinic care, chemotherapy and prescriptions · Nursing and personal care at home when approved · Rides to appointments · Medically necessary services within federal Medicaid benefit categories for members under 21, through HealthCheck.

Legal protection: Parents' income and assets are not counted · No asset test for the child · No copays for members enrolled through this route

What it costs the family: No copays. A current sentence on premiums was not published, so we do not print one.

The eligibility facts, as published

Age
under 19
Age max exclusive
19
Disability
Social Security's definition of disabled
Level of care
the kind of care given by a hospital, skilled nursing facility, intermediate care facility or long-term care facility
Home care
safe and appropriate at home, and not more costly than the facility
Income
The child’s own countable income is at or below $2,982 monthly in 2026; parental income is not deemed.
Assets
no asset test for the child
Delivery
fee-for-service Medicaid; no health plan enrolment through this route
Statute
Approved Wisconsin Medicaid state plan, SPA WI-19-0014 effective October 1, 2019; the institutional financial standard includes the 300% SSI boundary.

The trap: Two separate things must be shown: a disability decision and a level-of-care decision. The oncology team's description of the daily care at home is what carries the second one, so ask for it early. There is no asset test for the child here, so a college account does not block it.

Where I read this

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