Wisconsin hasn’t expanded senior program to cover vaccines

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Department of Health Services has not expanded the state’s popular SeniorCare program to include coverage for vaccines, despite a law change this spring and as the coronavirus continues to ravage the state.

Republican lawmakers are demanding an explanation, calling the delay an “unnecessary roadblock for seniors looking to protect themselves from infectious diseases.”

Co-chairs of the Legislature’s budget committee on Friday wrote to Department of Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm expressing their concern. The department says it has been waiting for federal money to fund the coverage, estimated at about $80,000 a year.