Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl hailed the Senate Finance Committee’s passage of legislation that includes provisions to help strengthen BadgerCare, a Wisconsin program to help provide health care coverage for uninsured families. The committee’s passage of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) Reauthorization included funding for the program. The President has proposed stopping the expansion of programs like BadgerCare despite their cost effectiveness and popularity.

“SCHIP funds are critical to the thousands of Wisconsinites enrolled in the successful and popular BadgerCare program,” Feingold said. “I routinely hear how happy people in Wisconsin are with the coverage they receive through BadgerCare. I’m happy I was able to help make sure the Senate’s reauthorization of SCHIP included funding to help keep even more Wisconsin families healthy.”

“Skyrocketing health care costs combined with a decline in employer-sponsored health insurance means that thousands of kids and families across our state would go without basic medical care if BadgerCare didn’t fill the need. Strengthening the SCHIP funding for BadgerCare will ensure that this successful program can continue to cover working families in Wisconsin. It’s a good investment of our scarce federal dollars,” Kohl said.

Feingold and Kohl have worked hard to preserve and strengthen SCHIP so it could continue to benefit programs like BadgerCare. Both Senators have repeatedly urged the Senate Finance Committee to include provisions to help Wisconsin in the SCHIP reauthorization bill. When Republican Senators and the White House targeted the coverage of parents enrolled in SCHIP, Senator Feingold and Kohl aggressively and successfully worked to make sure no Wisconsin parents would see their coverage dropped as a result of the reauthorization bill. Last year, both Senators cosponsored the Keep Children Covered Act last year to prevent SCHIP shortfalls while Congress was out of session. The shortfall was eventually averted.

There are currently 67,000 families enrolled in the BadgerCare program. The SCHIP reauthorization bill will allow Wisconsin to expand the program and cover more uninsured families. Governor Jim Doyle has already expressed support for the expansion of the program.