Trips to the doctor might become more affordable for Wisconsinites in need after a new report released Monday by the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services found 18 percent of low-income children were uninsured for all or part of 2005.

"[Children] are not getting preventative care; they aren't getting their wellness care or checkups," said Stephanie Marquis, spokesperson for the DHFS.

The report also found the overall number of children that went at least part of the year without health insurance increased by about 21 percent from 2004. Young adults were the age group most likely to be uninsured, as 12 percent were in 2005.

In response to the increasing number of uninsured Wisconsin residents, Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle announced his proposal to expand the number of people eligible for BadgerCare Plus, the state's low-cost insurance program.

"BadgerCare Plus will ensure that every child in Wisconsin has health insurance," Doyle spokesperson Matt Canter said. "All families in Wisconsin will be able to buy into BadgerCare for insurance for their kids."

Despite the increase in uninsured children, 89 percent of Wisconsin residents did have insurance coverage all year, a large percentage relative to other states.

The proposed program, which the governor intends to keep cost-neutral, would also help low-income college students obtain inexpensive health insurance.

"We are going to be raising the eligibility for families with college students … so it would make more people eligible to buy [into BadgerCare Plus] for their families," Canter said.

Marquis also said this program could be ideal for college students, particularly because of the low monthly premiums the plan is expected to have.

"If you buy into the program, then your premiums would be around $10 and no higher than $80 a month," she said. "In particular, if you are a college student without any income, this absolutely may assist you."

But some legislators are concerned about the cost of such a program and whether it is possible to keep it cost-neutral.

"It is a huge financial burden because it's basically a dollar-for-dollar program," said Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, who has been supportive of BadgerCare in the past. "We do have a problem with BadgerCare — and that is if this kind of safety net is expanded, we do notice it becomes more and more costly. And what you don't want is that the program will eventually collapse on itself."

However, this expansion is expected to remain cost-neutral by eliminating inefficiencies and $20 million in administrative costs by combining state health programs, Canter said. The proposal will consolidate the Medicaid, Healthy Start and BadgerCare programs into one state health-insurance program.

The governor is expected to formally submit his BadgerCare Plus proposal at the start of the next legislative session.