Program Would Subsidize Low-Income Health Insurance Premiums

Milwaukee County elected officials will consider a funding request for a new program that would pay the healthcare insurance premiums for people that have low incomes, but not low enough for Medicaid.

The Milwaukee Premium Assistance Program is being developed by the Milwaukee Health Care Partnership, a coalition of local governments, health systems and health centers, dedicated to improving healthcare for Milwaukee County’s low-income residents.

Milwaukee County’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) a member of the partnership, is currently seeking $500,000 in funding from the county’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocation for the project. The funds would represent the county’s contribution toward a project that plans to raise approximately $3.5 million for a two-year pilot program.

The rest of the funds for the program would be raised by the healthcare partnership, which includes the four major health systems (Advocate Aurora Health, Children’s Wisconsin, Froedtert Health, Ascension), five community health centers, the Medical College of Wisconsin and the City of Milwaukee.

The program is designed to offer the additional health insurance subsidy to Milwaukee County residents whose income falls between 101% and 138% of the federal poverty line, Steve Gorodetskiy, DHHS Strategic Initiatives Director, told members of the county’s ARPA Task Force Thursday. A non-profit partner, in this case, Community Advocates, would verify residents’ eligibility and then directly pay their premiums for health insurance purchased on the federal Affordable Care Act insurance marketplace.

The program is intended to be “as simple as possible” for county residents, Gorodetskiy said. Its design is largely based on a program already being run in Dane County.

In May, the federal emergency declaration that allowed residents to remain on Medicaid without enrolling will expire. The declaration was a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. When it does, Gorodetskiy said, it’s estimated as many as 90,000 Milwaukee County residents will lose Medicaid coverage between June 2023 and June 2024.

Not everyone that will lose Medicaid will become uninsured, as some will lose coverage because their income went up or because they have insurance through their employer, but many will.

The Milwaukee County Board is expected to consider a resolution authored by Sup. Shawn Rolland this month that would have the county partner with a national non-profit called RIP Medical Debt to erase approximately $153 million in medical debt for county residents. The county would manage this feat by spending just $1.6 million.

Gorodetskiy said the premium assistance program would attempt to address the same problem as the medical debt resolution — that being the unaffordable cost of healthcare for many — only it would do so by going “up-stream” and maintaining insurance coverage for those that might otherwise lose it.

The task force unanimously recommended approval of funding for the project. It will next go to the county board.