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# Wisconsin Ends BadgerCare for Adult Refugees and Asylees Under Federal Law
- URL: https://foxwatershed.com/badgercare-refugees-asylees-medicaid-cut/
- Published: 2026-10-08T01:51:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-15T01:54:06.000Z
- Description: Since Oct. 1, adult refugees, asylees and seven other groups of legally present immigrants no longer qualify for Wisconsin Medicaid. The state hasn't said how many people lost coverage.
- Author: Fox Watershed Staff
- Tags: Health, Wisconsin State Politics, National

Adult refugees, asylees and seven other groups of legally present immigrants lost eligibility for BadgerCare Plus and the rest of Wisconsin Medicaid on Oct. 1, under a provision of the tax and spending law President Donald Trump signed in July 2025.1,2 The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) hasn't published a count of how many people lost health coverage. Its estimate earlier this year put the number losing FoodShare, Medicaid or both at about 7,200, with nearly two-thirds living in greater Milwaukee.3

The cut reaches the Fox Valley, where World Relief Wisconsin runs resettlement offices in Appleton and Oshkosh. Erin Stauss, a health navigator for the agency, said in a Sept. 30 interview posted by World Relief that many families had already received letters saying their coverage would end. "Many notices arrive in the mail only in English," she said.4

## Who Lost Coverage

Section 71109 of the federal law, H.R. 1, limits federal Medicaid funding for noncitizens to green card holders, Cuban and Haitian entrants, and migrants from the Compact of Free Association nations.1,5 DHS lists nine immigration statuses that no longer qualify adults 19 and older: refugees and special immigrants, asylees, people paroled into the country for at least a year, people granted withholding of removal, conditional entrants, Amerasians, trafficking victims and their family members, Violence Against Women Act self-petitioners, and foreign-born members of a Tribal nation.1,2

The change covers far more than BadgerCare Plus. A DHS operations memo dated Aug. 14 applies it to SSI Medicaid, institutional (nursing home) Medicaid, home and community-based waiver programs, the Medicaid Purchase Plan for working people with disabilities, SeniorCare, the Medicare Savings Programs, Wisconsin Well Woman Medicaid and family planning services.1 People in the affected statuses who still get Supplemental Security Income keep their cash payment but lose the Medicaid that usually comes with it.2

Current members were reverified in the months before October, and those whose status was confirmed as no longer qualifying lost coverage on Oct. 1.1,2 New applications filed on or after that date are judged under the new rules. Affected adults can still apply for coverage for earlier months. A September ForwardHealth notice to providers gives the example of a 25-year-old refugee who applies Nov. 15 and can be covered for August and September, but not for October or later.6

## Who Keeps It

Lawfully present children under 19 and pregnant people in the affected statuses stay eligible in Wisconsin, along with young adults under 21 living in an institution for mental disease.2,6 That isn't true everywhere. States that never adopted the federal options for covering lawfully present children and pregnant people lose those groups too, according to Georgetown University's Center for Children and Families.5 Arizona is one of 11 states where children and pregnant women are among those cut, KJZZ reported Oct. 8, citing KFF.7

Emergency Services coverage, which pays for medical emergencies, is still open to people barred by immigration status, but only if they're 18 or younger or 65 or older, blind or disabled, pregnant, former foster youth ages 18 to 25, or caring for a child under 19 at home.2 Under those criteria, a working-age refugee with no disability and no children at home doesn't qualify. Wisconsin Watch reported that Emergency Services has a high eligibility bar and doesn't cover preventive or ongoing chronic care.3 DHS points affected people to time-limited Refugee Medical Assistance, free and low-cost clinics, and the Wisconsin Well Woman Program, a public health program separate from Medicaid.2

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## Stuck Waiting on Green Cards

Refugees can usually apply for a green card a year after they arrive, and getting one restores eligibility.3 Few have gotten through. Of nearly 170 people Lutheran Social Services resettled in Wisconsin between October 2024 and September 2025, only one had a green card as of late June, and the Trump administration froze green card processing in January for people from 39 countries, Wisconsin Watch reported.3 Stauss said a question she hears often from the public is "Shouldn't they already have their green card?"4

The Fox Valley took in 181 Afghan arrivals in 2022, part of more than 800 resettled statewide that year, according to state Department of Children and Families figures cited by WPR.8 Their immigration statuses vary, and those who have since become permanent residents keep their coverage.

For many households, the Medicaid loss follows a food aid cut. The same law ended FoodShare eligibility for most of the same groups starting July 1, barring new applications and dropping current recipients at renewal.9 Gail Cornelius, World Relief's regional director in Wisconsin, told WPR in May that newly arrived workers "may be making just above minimum wage."9 Stauss said families are now hitting the health coverage cut shortly after losing FoodShare, and that their biggest concern is the financial hit if someone gets sick.4

## The Money and What Comes Next

The Congressional Budget Office estimated the Medicaid and CHIP restriction cuts federal spending by $6.2 billion and leaves about 100,000 people without that coverage, according to a KFF analysis.10 Counting Medicare and subsidized Marketplace plans, KFF projects 1.4 million lawfully present immigrants nationwide will lose health coverage by 2034.10 Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins praised the law last year for addressing fraud and waste in food aid, WPR reported.9 DHS spokesperson Elizabeth Goodsitt attributed Wisconsin's later rollout to the state's "complex, combined eligibility system."3

More cuts are scheduled. Subsidized Marketplace coverage closes to refugees, asylees and most other lawfully present immigrants without green cards on Jan. 1, 2027, and affected Medicare enrollees must lose coverage by Jan. 4, 2027.10 DHS asks anyone told their coverage is ending who is pregnant or was recently pregnant to report it to their local income maintenance agency, since pregnancy keeps them eligible.2 World Relief said its staff are contacting families with chronic conditions before their coverage ends, and Stauss named free clinics and sliding-fee federally qualified health centers among the few remaining options.4

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1. [Federally Required Health Care Eligibility Changes for Non-Citizens (DMS Operations Memo 26-29)](https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/dms/memos/ops/dms-ops-2026-29.pdf?ref=foxwatershed.com)
2. [Medicaid: Health Care Coverage for Non-citizens](https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/medicaid/noncitizens.htm?ref=foxwatershed.com)
3. [Wisconsin to cut FoodShare, Medicaid for thousands of refugees under new federal rules](https://wisconsinwatch.org/2026/06/wisconsin-foodshare-medicaid-cut-refugees-new-federal-rules-immigrants-trump-snap/?ref=foxwatershed.com)
4. [Inspired by Hope: Walking with Refugee Families Through Difficult Medicaid Changes](https://worldrelief.org/wiblog-walking-with-refugee-families-through-difficult-medicaid-changes/?ref=foxwatershed.com)
5. [New Immigrant Eligibility Restrictions Coming to Federally Funded Health Coverage](https://ccf.georgetown.edu/2025/10/01/new-immigrant-eligibility-restrictions-coming-to-federally-funded-health-coverage/?ref=foxwatershed.com)
6. [ForwardHealth Update 2026-24: Upcoming Changes to Noncitizen Member Eligibility for Wisconsin Medicaid and BadgerCare Plus](https://www.forwardhealth.wi.gov/kw/pdf/2026-24.pdf?ref=foxwatershed.com)
7. [Thousands of refugees in the U.S. just lost Medicaid coverage. In Arizona, even kids were cut](https://kjzz.org/science/2026-10-08/thousands-of-refugees-in-the-u-s-just-lost-medicaid-coverage-in-arizona-even-kids-were-cut?ref=foxwatershed.com)
8. ['Our Afghan Neighbors' exhibit explores life for Fox Valley refugees](https://wisconsinwatch.org/2025/02/wisconsin-afghanistan-refugees-appleton-fox-valley-exhibit/?ref=foxwatershed.com)
9. [Relief groups brace for end of food assistance for Wisconsin refugees](https://www.wpr.org/news/relief-groups-brace-end-food-assistance-wisconsin-refugees?ref=foxwatershed.com)
10. [1.4 Million Lawfully Present Immigrants are Expected to Lose Health Coverage due to the 2025 Tax and Budget Law](https://www.kff.org/immigrant-health/1-4-million-lawfully-present-immigrants-are-expected-to-lose-health-coverage-due-to-the-2025-tax-and-budget-law/?ref=foxwatershed.com)