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Governor Doyle Awards $447,142 to 32 organizations to sign up kids for BadgerCare Plus

MADISON - On behalf of Governor Jim Doyle, Department of Health and Family Services Secretary Kevin R. Hayden today awarded 32 community-based organizations a total of $447,142 to reach out to Wisconsin families and enroll children in BadgerCare Plus starting February 1, 2008. These community partners will share information about the program's benefits and provide direct, confidential application assistance. In some cases, children will be able to receive immediate, express enrollment in BadgerCare Plus through these community partners.

Secretary Hayden was joined by Steve Martenet, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Wisconsin and State Medicaid Director Jason Helgerson. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield has partnered with the Department to promote enrolling uninsured individuals in BadgerCare Plus. Families can begin signing up for BadgerCare Plus on February 1, 2008 by visiting www.BadgerCarePlus.org or calling 1-800-362-3002.

"Affordable, comprehensive health care for all children in Wisconsin is within our reach," Secretary Hayden said. "In fact, within several weeks, every child in Wisconsin will have access to health care when Governor Doyle's BadgerCare Plus program launches. I applaud these 32 community-based organizations for their commitment to our state's children and families and for becoming one of our many partners in signing up kids for BadgerCare Plus."

"Identifying and enrolling the eligible uninsured are important because a lack of health insurance impacts all of us," said Steve Martenet, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Wisconsin. "The purpose of these grants is to reach children and families who live in Wisconsin and lack access to quality health care because they are uninsured. Identifying the children eligible for BadgerCare Plus is a first step in alleviating the number of uninsured individuals in Wisconsin."

BadgerCare Plus offers health coverage to every child in Wisconsin by streamlining Medicaid, BadgerCare and Healthy Start into one comprehensive program. BadgerCare Plus will allow every Wisconsin family, regardless of income, to buy affordable, comprehensive health care coverage for their kids. Low income families will be able to enroll their children into BadgerCare Plus at no charge. Families with higher incomes will be able to buy into the program for as little as $10 a month.

The BadgerCare Plus mini-grant recipients are as follows:

• AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, $12,916
• Atonement Lutheran School, Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, $6,000
• Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Odanah, Ashland County, $23,005
• Boys and Girls Club of Dane County, Madison, Dane County, $10,000
• Catholic Charities of the Diocese of La Crosse, La Crosse, La Crosse County, $13,600
• Catholic Charities - Diocese of Madison, Madison, Dane County, $11,480
• Chippewa County Department of Public Health, Chippewa Falls, Chippewa County, $15,062
• City of Milwaukee Public Health Department, Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, $10,000
• Community Memorial Foundation, Menomonee Falls, Milwaukee County, $11,000
• Community Memorial Hospital, Oconto Falls, Oconto County, $20,305
• Day Care Services for Children, Inc., Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, $12,760
• Dodge County Human Services and Health Department, Juneau, Dodge County, $9,156
• Eau Claire City-County Health Department, Eau Claire, Eau Claire County, $19,080
• Forward Service Corporation, Madison, Dane County, $21,269
• Hebron House of Hospitality, Inc., Waukesha, Waukesha County, $18,500
• Independence First, Inc., Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, $9,000
• Integrated Community Services, Inc., Green Bay, Brown County, $10,000
• Juneau County Health Department, Mauston, Juneau County, $10,000
• La Casa de Esperanza, Inc., Waukesha, Waukesha County, $19,870
• La Crosse County Health Department, La Crosse, La Crosse County, $13,570
• Milwaukee Christian Center, Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, $15,900
• NEWCAP, Inc., Oconto, Oconto County, $18,265
• Northwest WI CEP, Inc., Ashland, Ashland County, $24,000
• Polk County Health Department, Balsam Lake, Polk County, $14,200
• Positive Alternatives, Inc., Menomonie, Dunn County, $7,000
• Pregnancy Support Connection, Inc., Waukesha, Waukesha County, $9,500
• Rock County Human Services Department, Janesville, Rock County, $11,004
• Social Development Commission, Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, $10,000
• South Madison Health and Family Center - Harambee, Madison, Dane County, $14,460
• St. Croix County Department of Health and Human Services - Public Health, New Richmond, St. Croix County, $22,340
• The Workers' Rights Center, Inc., Madison, Dane County, $10,000
• Washburn County Health and Human Services Department, Spooner, Washburn County, $13,900

To learn more about BadgerCare Plus, go to www.BadgerCarePlus.org.

About Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation

Through charitable grant making, the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation promotes Anthem's inherent commitment to enhance the health and well-being of individuals and families in communities that Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield serves.

The Foundation focuses its funding on strategic initiatives that address and provide innovative solutions to reduce the number of uninsured as well as organizations and nonprofit charities that promote the Healthy Generations Program, a multi-generational initiative that targets specific disease states and medical conditions. These include: prenatal care in the first trimester, low birth weight babies, cardiac morbidity rates, long term activities that decrease obesity and increase physical activity, diabetes prevalence in adult populations, adult pneumococcal and influenza vaccinations and smoking cessation.

The Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation is an affiliate of the WellPoint Foundation. To learn more about the WellPoint Foundation please visit www.wellpointfoundation.org.

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Last Revised:  January 17, 2008