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

Childhood Cancer Lantern
Search Saved

Wisconsin program

Health coverage for you (BadgerCare Plus)

Wisconsin health insurance for parents and other adults with low current income.

What it is

Wisconsin health insurance for parents and other adults with low current income.

A child's approval does not automatically cover a parent. BadgerCare Plus uses a separate, lower adult income limit. You can include adults on the same application.

Eligibility rules
  • Parents, caretaker relatives and adults without children use the 100% poverty line, with the allowance already included.
  • The adult line by household size, per month: 2: $1,803 · 3: $2,277 · 4: $2,750 · 5: $3,223 · 6: $3,697.
  • Wisconsin residency is required. The decision uses current monthly income, rather than last year's earnings.
What you get
  • No premium for a parent below the income limit.
  • Hospital visits, clinic care, prescriptions and mental health care for you.
If you decide to apply
  1. Your social worker can help you decide whether to talk with the income maintenance or tribal agency about adult coverage.
  2. Have current pay information and your Wisconsin address ready, including any recent reduction in earnings.

ACCESS or your income maintenance or tribal agency; agency referral: 800-362-3002 · Official page ↗

Good to know

Your child can qualify when you do not. The adult limit already includes the income allowance.

Other details
  • Written notice is due within 30 days after the agency receives your application.
  • The work rules starting December 31, 2026 concern adults ages 19–64 without a child under 19 at home. They require 80 monthly hours of work, training or volunteering.
  • If income is above the adult limit, a separate Marketplace review can compare private coverage and tax credits.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Could I qualify for BadgerCare Plus after a change in pay, what are the tradeoffs with other coverage, and would you help me apply if it fits?”

Why I’m asking: I need to keep my own care covered while looking after my child.

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

Add yourself to your child's application and give this month's income.

Your social worker

The social worker can file both together so nothing is missed.

The care team

Records and letters when the application asks for them.

Who decides
Your local income maintenance or tribal agency.
Ask your social worker
“Can we put the adults on the same application as our child, using this month's income rather than last year's?”

How to apply

First step: Add the adults to the same application at access.wi.gov, and report this month's income if pay has just changed.

  1. Put the adults on the same application as your child.
  2. If a parent's pay has just dropped, report this month's figure, not last year's.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Apply at access.wi.gov, on the same application as the child.

What to gather

  • This month's pay for each adult
  • Your Wisconsin address

How long: Written notice is due within 30 days of the agency receiving the application.

What a yes looks like

A ForwardHealth card for the parent as well as the child.

What a no looks like, and the next move

Over the adult line. Go to the Marketplace instead, where a tax credit is worked out on the same income.

Watch out

  • The adult line is far lower than your child's line, so one can be a yes and the other a no.
  • The limit already includes the allowance: do not add another five points to it.
  • The work rules starting at the end of 2026 are for adults with no child under 19 at home.

Dates that change this

2026-12-31: The new 80-hours-a-month rule from December 31, 2026 covers adults aged 19 to 64 with no child under 19 living with them. Ask the agency how it reads your household if a child moves out.

The numbers and the rules

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

What it is worth

Full BadgerCare Plus for the parent at or under $1,803 a month for two, $2,277 for three, $2,750 for four, $3,223 for five and $3,697 for six.

  • $1,803.33/month — Household of 2, adult limit (100% of poverty, disregard already included)
  • $2,276.67/month — Household of 3, adult limit (100% of poverty, disregard already included)
  • $2,750/month — Household of 4, adult limit (100% of poverty, disregard already included)
  • $3,223.33/month — Household of 5, adult limit (100% of poverty, disregard already included)
  • $3,696.67/month — Household of 6, adult limit (100% of poverty, disregard already included)

Covers: Hospital and clinic care, prescriptions and mental health care for the parent

Legal protection: Decided on this month's income, so a pay drop counts straight away

What it costs the family: No premium for a parent under the line.

The eligibility facts, as published

Income
100% of the poverty line, with the disregard already inside the limit
Who
parents and caretaker relatives, and adults with no children at the same line
Residency
Wisconsin
Work rules
from December 31, 2026, adults aged 19 to 64 without a child under 19 at home must report 80 hours a month of work, training or volunteering

The trap: The 100% limit already includes the disregard, so do not add another five points to it. And the new work rules coming on December 31, 2026 are for adults aged 19 to 64 with no child under 19 at home; a parent living with your child is not in that group.

Where I read this

← Back to your options