State of Wisconsin Department of Health Services

Release 26-02 April 15, 2026

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25.3 Where to Apply

25.3.1 Where to Apply Introduction

The agency (county/tribe or consortium) of the applicant’s county of residence should process the individual’s application.

An individual who resides in a nursing home/hospital for 30 days or more is considered a resident of the county in which the nursing home/hospital is located.

The applicant’s county of residence at the time of admission must receive and process applications for people in the following state institutions:

• Northern, Central, and Southern Centers
• Winnebago and Mendota Mental Health Institutes
• The University of Wisconsin Hospital

When an applicant contacts the wrong agency, they must be redirected to the consortium or tribal agency responsible for processing the applicationA request for BadgerCare Plus coverage. The request must be on the Department's application or registration form and must contain name, address, and a valid signature. The applicant must submit a signed and completed application form to complete the application process. immediately. Anytime a paper application is received in the wrong consortium or tribal agency, it must be redirected to the correct agency as soon as it is discovered. The filing date remains the date originally received by the wrong consortium or tribal agency.

25.3.2 Intercounty Placements

When there is a dispute between the placing county and the receiving county about responsibility, the social or human services department of the receiving county may initiate referral to the Department of Health Services' Area Administration office for resolution. Pending a decision, the county where the person is physically present must process the application, any changes and renewals.

25.3.3 Applications Outside Wisconsin

Generally, an application should not be taken for a resident of Wisconsin when they are living outside of Wisconsin. An exception is when a Wisconsin resident becomes ill or injured outside of the state or is taken out of the state for medical treatment. In this case, the application may be taken, using Wisconsin’s application forms (see Section 25.1 Application). 

25.3.4 Applications Received from the Federal Marketplace

The FFMFederally-Facilitated Marketplace (also known as the Marketplace or the Exchange). Applications for BadgerCare Plus or Medicaid may be filed with the Federally-Facilitated Marketplace, run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Marketplace will assess their applicants as potentially eligible for the State’s Medicaid or CHIP programs, and, if found potentially eligible, will transfer individual accounts to the income maintenance agency for a full determination. Individuals who apply at income maintenance agencies or ACCESS and are found ineligible for Medicaid or CHIP will be sent to the Marketplace. sends applications to CARES through an account transfer process for individuals the FFM assesses as potentially eligible for BadgerCare Plus or Medicaid. Such applications are considered full applications for all "insurance affordability programs" including BadgerCare Plus and should be appropriately processed. The 30-day processing requirement begins on the day that the application is received by the local agency or the next business day if received after normal operating hours or on weekends or holidays. If eligible, the individual's benefits will begin on the first day of the month the application was filed at the Marketplace, not the date that the application was received by the agency. If the individual requests backdating, their eligibility will be backdated for up to three months from the first day of the month the application was filed at the FFM.

If a paper application from the Marketplace is mailed to a consortium or tribal agency, the IM agency must consider that application as an application for BadgerCare Plus and/or Medicaid and process it.

 

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The information concerning the BadgerCare Plus program provided in this handbook release is published in accordance with: Titles XI, XIX and XXI of the Social Security Act; Parts 430 through 481 of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations; Chapter 49 of the Wisconsin Statutes; and Chapters HA 3, DHS 2 and 101 through 109 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code.

Notice: The content within this manual is the sole responsibility of the State of Wisconsin's Department of Health Services (DHS). This site will link to sites outside of DHS where appropriate. DHS is in no way responsible for the content of sites outside of DHS.

Publication Number: P-10171