Wisconsin Health Program Faces Millions in Cuts Under Trump, DOGE

MADISON, Wis. — President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are cutting funding for Wisconsin’s healthcare navigator program, Covering Wisconsin, by more than 90%, dropping it from over $3 million in 2024 to just $300,000. In 2024, nearly 60,000 Wisconsinites relied on Covering Wisconsin for free health insurance assistance, including nearly 10,000 who enrolled in coverage through the program.

Wisconsin’s state navigator program, Covering Wisconsin, directly helped almost 10,000 people in Wisconsin enroll in health insurance including Medicaid in 2024. In the same year, the program also answered questions and assisted on issues for around 60,000 Wisconsinites. Private insurance brokers rely on being paid by commission from private insurance companies, and studies have shown that because of this, brokers are significantly less likely to help people sign up for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). 

Not only are navigators not allowed to be paid by private insurance companies through commission, they cannot recommend one company or policy over another, allowing for the navigators to remain unbiased in their assistance. Instead, navigators make choosing marketplace health insurance easier to understand for consumers by providing general information and answering questions about coverage and assistance.

The cuts would mean that Covering Wisconsin only receives $300,000 in federal funding compared to the over $3 million in funding for 2024. In 2024, around 1.2 million Wisconsinites were enrolled in BadgerCare, Wisconsin’s Medicaid program, and CHIP. In 2023, over 34% of all child births in the state were covered by Medicaid and four out of every seven Wisconsin residents in nursing homes were covered by Medicaid.