Frederica Freyberg:

The Wisconsin Senate finished a special session this week by passing a new health care bill, and Governor Walker quickly signed it into law. Along party lines, in an 18-12 vote, the State Senate extended the State BadgerCare and high-risk insurance plans for three months, because of problems with federal healthcare enrollment. That means more than 90,000 people on BadgerCare and those high-risk plans now have until the end of March to sign on to insurance through the healthcare marketplace. The governor’s budget had originally called for individuals above the poverty line to seek private insurance by January 1, the federal deadline. The governor’s budget also was to provide coverage to 83,000 adults without children who are at or below the poverty line, but now that won’t happen until April 1, because the other BadgerCare and high-risk plan policies will be extended.