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State of Wisconsin |
Release 24-03 |
If the only parent(s) or caretaker(s) in the household are incarcerated, any children on the case open for Medicaid will remain eligible the remainder of their 12-month continuous coverage period. Eligibility for the children will end at the end of the 12-month period unless they open for health care on another case.
| Example 1 | Faye and her 10-year-old daughter, Chantelle, are both enrolled in health care as of January 1, 2024. Faye is enrolled in medically needy Medicaid and Chantelle is enrolled in BadgerCare Plus. On March 9, 2021, Faye is incarcerated. Faye’s suspended Medicaid starts April 1, 2021. Chantelle will remain open for full-benefit BadgerCare Plus on Faye’s case for the remainder of her 12-month continuous coverage period. Chantelle’s BadgerCare Plus will end December 31, 2024. Chantelle could re-enroll in BadgerCare Plus as part of the household she now resides in or through another program such as Foster Care Medicaid depending on her situation. |
Pregnant women who are incarcerated will have their eligibility determined under the BadgerCare Plus Prenatal Program (see BadgerCare Plus Eligibility Handbook, Section 41.1 BadgerCare Plus Prenatal Program).
When the pregnancy ends, BadgerCare Plus Prenatal Program members must have their health care eligibility redetermined for the next month. If determined eligible for Medicaid, the member will open for suspended Medicaid.
Some inmates may be allowed to leave jail for various reasons under the Huber Law, also known as the Huber Program. Huber Law prisoners who are released from jail to attend to the needs of their families can become eligible for full-benefit Medicaid if both the following are true:
This is known as the Huber Law exemption.
Huber Law prisoners who are released for a purpose other than attending to the needs of their families are not eligible for full-benefit Medicaid. Instead, they may be eligible for suspended Medicaid.
| Example 2 | Shannon is incarcerated in jail. During her incarceration, her 8-year-old daughter, Jada, lives with Shannon’s mother. Shannon is allowed to leave jail under the Huber Law for employment. Shannon leaves jail during the day to work and then returns to jail every night. She sends part of her paycheck to her mother to help with Jada’s expenses. Even though Shannon provides financial support for Jada, she is not eligible for the Huber Law exemption because her court documents do not list attending to the needs of her family as a reason for her participation in the Huber Program. |
| Example 3 | Dennis is incarcerated in jail. During his incarceration, his 3-year-old and 5-year-old children live with his wife, Brenda. Dennis is allowed to leave jail under the Huber Law to attend school and care for his children while Brenda is at work. Dennis is eligible for the Huber Law exemption because his court documents list attending to the needs of his family as a reason for his participation in the Huber Program. |
If a person is incarcerated in Wisconsin and then involuntarily transferred to a correctional institution in another state, the person is still considered a Wisconsin resident.
| Example 4 | Oscar resides in Wisconsin. He commits a crime in Wisconsin and is incarcerated in a Wisconsin Department of Corrections facility. Due to a shortage of space, Oscar is transferred to a prison in Minnesota. Oscar remains a Wisconsin resident and may be eligible for suspended Medicaid or Medicaid while he is residing in the prison in Minnesota. |
If a person has committed a crime outside of Wisconsin and is incarcerated by that state in a correctional facility in that state, the person is considered to be a resident of that state and not Wisconsin.
| Example 5 | Connor resides in Wisconsin. He commits a crime in Illinois and is incarcerated in an Illinois correctional facility. Connor is an Illinois resident while he is residing in the facility in Illinois. He is not eligible for suspended or full-benefit Medicaid in Wisconsin since he is not a Wisconsin resident. |
This page last updated in Release Number: 23-04
Release Date: 12/18/2023
Effective Date: 01/01/2024
The information concerning the Medicaid program provided in this handbook release is published in accordance with: Titles XI and XIX of the Social Security Act; Parts 430 through 481 of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations; Chapters 46 and 49 of the Wisconsin Statutes; and Chapters HA 3, DHS 2, 10 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-10030