ForwardHealth: Apply for Benefits

Wisconsin offers many programs that help with things like:

• Health care coverage
• Paying for food
• Child care costs
• Finding a job

Before you apply, answer a few questions to help determine which programs may be able to help you.

Information to have ready

When you apply, you should have certain information ready. This applies to these programs:

• BadgerCare Plus
• Family Planning Only Services
• FoodShare
• Medicaid

This is the information to have handy for each person who’s applying:

• Birthdate
• Address
• Social Security number

• U.S. citizenship or immigration status
• Marital status
• Names of people living in your home and how they are related

• Job income
• Job information, including employer's name, address, and phone number
• Other income (for example, Social Security or Unemployment Compensation)

For BadgerCare Plus, you should also have information ready about health insurance you may have through your employer.

How to apply

You can apply in one of these ways:

Online

Use the ACCESS website to apply. This is the fastest and easiest way to apply for benefits. You can apply for multiple programs at the same time when using ACCESS.

Phone

Call your local county or tribal agency during their office hours.

Mail

Fill out and mail a paper application for each program you are applying to:

• BadgerCare Plus Application Packet, F-10182 (also used for Family Planning Only Services)
• Wisconsin FoodShare Application, F-16019
• Wisconsin Medicaid for the Elderly, Blind, or Disabled Application Packet, F-10101

In person

Go to your local county or tribal agency during their office hours.

More resources

Have questions?

Fair hearings

You have the right to appeal a decision made about your program eligibility. Use the Request for Fair Hearing form.

Equal opportunity information

Find the USDA Nondiscrimination Statement, P-02174 (PDF), on page 2. You can get the nondiscrimination statement in languages other than English at the bottom of this webpage.

More information on applying

You can find more information about applying for health, nutrition, and other programs in Guide to Applying for Wisconsin’s Health, Nutrition, and Other Programs, P-16091.

Other programs

If you need help with child care costs or getting a job, learn how Wisconsin Shares Child Care Subsidy and Wisconsin Works (W-2) could help.