U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., called on Marilyn Tavenner, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Tuesday to create a new enrollment period in the federal health care marketplace to ensure coverage for 38,000 Wisconsin citizens who have not yet found insurance options in compliance with the Affordable Care Act.
Last year Walker refused to accept federal money for Wisconsin’s Medicare program, offered as part of the Affordable Care Act. Baldwin said the move led to the termination of BadgerCare coverage for 63,000 Wisconsin citizens, 38,000 of whom may have been left uninsured.
The governor previously explained his decision, saying refusing the money would preserve the independence of Wisconsin’s citizens.
“The fact that Governor Walker was unable to transition nearly 38,000 people to the federal marketplace is extremely troubling,” Baldwin said in a statement Tuesday. “It is my hope that Governor Walker will join my call to open a new enrollment period immediately so that these Wisconsinites can receive health insurance as soon as possible.”
In a letter from Baldwin to Walker sent two weeks ago Baldwin demanded the governor conduct a study to determine just how many of the 38,000 are uninsured.
