Our view: Walker should delay BadgerCare deadline

It would be difficult to find two people farther apart on the ideological spectrum than Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Gov. Scott Walker.

One is the ultimate liberal on social issues, the other the ultimate fiscal conservative. We hope that divide alone is not enough to thwart a proposal by Baldwin to delay until March 31 the state’s health insurance enrollment deadline for Medicaid recipients who will be losing their BadgerCare coverage in January.

Walker should give serious thought to extending beyond Dec. 15 the current deadline to sign up on the federal exchange through the Affordable Care Act. The confusion of changing insurance carriers is exacerbated by the problems plaguing the website — healthcare.gov — being used to implement the changes.

An estimated 77,000 people in Wisconsin are expected to lose their Medicaid coverage Jan. 1, and be required to obtain insurance through the online marketplace. Baldwin suggests in a letter to Walker that people losing Medicaid coverage be allowed to remain on the program through the end of March.

Walker should approve the delay, particularly since he decided not to accept federal funds to expand Medicaid in the first place. The financial hardship placed on the state’s poorest families resulting from that decision should not be magnified by adherence to a strict sign-up deadline that will be impossible for some to meet under current circumstances.

The trouble surrounding the federal healthcare website is well documented and hardly bears repeating. It creates angst for anyone exploring health-care options, but is a particular source of anxiety for those families transitioning from Medicaid and BadgerCare who rely almost entirely on the government for their health care insurance.

It is unlikely that Walker will expand BadgerCare or reverse his position on accepting federal funds to expand Medicaid. He should do the next best thing and accept Baldwin’s common sense suggestion to delay the health insurance enrollment deadline. Those facing the Dec. 15 deadline can use the extra time to climb the mountain of detail involved in the transition to different insurers.

Walker and Baldwin will likely see eye-to-eye on few things. This could be one of them, however, to the benefit of thousands of Wisconsin residents they each represent.