Elderly, Blind, or Disabled Medicaid and SSI Medicaid Member Information

You’ll receive Elderly, Blind, or Disabled for 12 months once you enroll. That’s unless a change affects your eligibility.

You can find information below about:

  • How to use your ForwardHealth card.
  • How to pick an HMO (health maintenance organization).
  • What services are covered.
  • Who has to pay a copay.
  • How to report changes.
  • How to renew your coverage.

Using your ForwardHealth card

Front of Forward Health Card

After you get Medicaid, we’ll send you a ForwardHealth card in the mail. If you had Medicaid, BadgerCare Plus, or Family Planning Only Services in the past, you won’t get a new card. You can use the same card you used before.

Your ForwardHealth card includes your name. It also has a 10-digit number and magnetic stripe. There is a place for you to sign your name as soon as you get it. If you need help, the Member Services phone number is on the card. They’re available from 8 a.m.–6 p.m., Monday through Friday.

You must show your card when you go to the doctor. You also need it when you pick up medicine at the pharmacy. Need to get a new card? If your card is lost or was stolen, go to your ACCESS account or call ForwardHealth Member Services at 800-362-3002.

Manage your benefits with ACCESS

Picking an HMO

Some people in Medicaid for the Elderly, Blind, or Disabled or SSI Medicaid get their health care through HMOs. These are insurance companies that offer services from select providers. If you need to pick an HMO, you’ll get a letter and enrollment book with a list. If you don’t choose an HMO by the deadline included in the letter, one will be picked for you.

To enroll in an HMO or if you have questions about HMOs, call an HMO enrollment specialist at 800-291-2002.

If you have a provider you’d like to use, make sure they’re in the HMO network you choose. If they aren’t, you may have to change providers.

View our full list of HMOs below. You can use the links to learn more about each HMO and see which counties it covers.

  • iCare plan site
  • iCare member handbook
  • iCare provider directory
  • 800-777-4376 or 800-947-3529 (TTY)
  • Counties covered: Adams, Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Brown, Buffalo, Calumet, Chippewa, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Door, Douglas, Florence, Fond du Lac, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Iron, Jackson, Jefferson, Juneau, Kenosha, Kewaunee, La Crosse, Lafayette, Manitowoc, Marinette, Marquette, Menominee, Milwaukee, Monroe, Oconto, Outagamie, Ozaukee, Pepin, Pierce, Racine, Richland, Rock, Sauk, Sawyer, Shawano, Sheboygan, Trempealeau, Vernon, Walworth, Washburn, Washington, Waukesha, Waupaca, Waushara, Winnebago

  • Molina Health Care plan site
  • Molina Health Care member handbook
  • Molina Health Care provider directory
  • 888-999-2404 or 711 (TTY)
  • Counties covered: Adams, Brown, Calumet, Chippewa, Clark, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Door, Eau Claire, Florence, Fond du Lac, Forest, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Jackson, Jefferson, Juneau, Kenosha, Kewaunee, La Crosse, Lafayette, Lincoln, Manitowoc, Marathon, Marinette, Marquette, Milwaukee, Monroe, Oconto, Oneida, Outagamie, Ozaukee, Portage, Racine, Richland, Rock, Sauk, Shawano, Sheboygan, Trempealeau, Vernon, Vilas, Walworth, Washington, Waukesha, Waupaca, Waushara, Winnebago

Molina Health Care, Inc. acquired My Choice Wisconsin on September 1, 2023. Beginning July 1, 2024, members of the My Choice Wisconsin HMO will be identified as Molina members. Learn more about the purchase and how it affects members of My Choice Wisconsin.

Covered services

Medicaid for the Elderly, Blind, or Disabled and SSI Medicaid cover the services listed below. They could change, so check with your provider or call Member Services at 800-362-3002 for the most up-to-date information. They can tell you whether a service you need is covered and if there are limits on the services you need.

  • Case management services
  • Chiropractic services
  • Dental services
  • HealthCheck, a Medicaid health care benefit for young people
  • Some home and community-based services
  • Home health services or nursing services if a home health agency is unavailable
  • Hospice care
  • Inpatient hospital services, other than those performed in a mental health facility
  • Inpatient hospital, skilled nursing facility, and intermediate care facility services for patients who are 65 and older and in a mental health facility
  • Intermediate care facility services, other than those performed in a mental health facility
  • Lab and X-ray services
  • Medical supplies and equipment
  • Mental health and medical outpatient treatment
  • Mental health and psychosocial rehabilitative services, including case management services, provided by staff of a certified community support program
  • Nursing services, including those performed by a nurse practitioner
  • Optometric/optical services, including eyeglasses
  • Outpatient hospital services
  • Personal care services
  • Physical and occupational therapy
  • Physician services
  • Podiatry services
  • Prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs
  • Respiratory care services for those who need a ventilator
  • Rural health clinic services
  • Skilled nursing home services, other than those performed in a mental health facility
  • Speech, hearing, and language disorder services
  • Substance abuse services
  • Transportation to get medical care
  • Treatment to stop smoking
  • Treatment for tuberculosis

Copays

A copay is what you pay for a medical service. You pay it each time you receive the service.

Copays typically depend on monthly income. If your monthly income is more than the below, you may have to pay a copay.

  • One-person family: Monthly income of $531.67
  • Two-person family: Monthly income of $718.34

Who does not have to pay copays?

Providers aren’t allowed to collect copays from these members:

  • Children under age 19, no matter their income or benefit program
  • Children in foster care or the adoption system, no matter their age
  • American Indians or Alaskan Native Tribal members, children or grandchildren of a tribal member, or anyone who can get Indian Health Services. Age and income do not matter. This applies when getting items and services from an Indian Health Services provider or from the Purchase and Referred Care program.
  • Anyone receiving services through Express Enrollment
  • Pregnant people

Members of these programs don’t have to pay copays:

These services don’t require a copay:

  • Case management
  • Crisis intervention
  • Community support
  • Emergency
  • Family planning, including sterilizations
  • HealthCheck
  • HealthCheck “Other Services”
  • Home care
  • Hospice care
  • Immunizations
  • Independent lab
  • Injections
  • Private Duty Nursing (PDN) and PDN services for members on a ventilator
  • Pregnancy-related
  • Preventive services with an A or B rating from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
  • Residential substance use disorder treatment
  • School-based
  • Substance abuse day treatment
  • Surgical help

How much are copays?

Most copays are between 50 cents and $3, depending on the service. If you get more than one service, you may have to pay more than one copay.

Service CostCopay
Up to $1050 cents
$10.01-$25$1
$25.01-$50$2
Over $50$3

Is there a limit to the amount I pay each month?

Yes. Your copay will never be more than 5% of your total income before taxes or other deductions. Your monthly copay limit is based on certain things, including:

  • Your family size.
  • Your income.
  • Who in your household has copays.

If you owe copays, you’ll get an “About Your Benefits” letter (PDF) letting you know how much your monthly limit is.

If your copays reach your limit before the end of the month, you’ll get a “You Have Met Your Copay Limit” letter (PDF) letting you know. In this case, you won’t have to pay copays for the rest of the month.

Reporting changes

You must report any of the following changes within 10 days:

  • Someone moves in or out of your home.
  • Someone becomes pregnant or gives birth.
  • Your living arrangement changes. (For example, you’re incarcerated, or you move into a nursing home.)
  • Someone in your house has a change in health insurance.
  • You get married or divorced.
  • You move to a new address.

Also, if you have a change in your income or assets, you must report it by the 10th day of the next month. You can report changes:

Renewing your benefits

Every year, you must renew your benefits. A month before your benefits end you will get a letter. The letter will tell you how to renew them.

Learn more about renewals.

Glossary

 
Last revised September 18, 2024