In an effort to provide accessible health care to Wisconsinites, the state filed a request with the federal government to approve a $200 million health care reinsurance program Thursday, but state Democrats argue even more action is needed.
Should this appeal gain federal approval, Gov. Scott Walker said it could save the state up to five percent on health care premiums, as well as bolster access to private providers.
“With Washington D.C. failing to fix our nation’s health care system, Wisconsin must lead,” Walker said in a press release Thursday. “We are taking action to address the challenges created by Obamacare and bring stability to the individual market.”
The adjustment comes after decreased enrollment in the Affordable Care Act caused insurance premiums to rise by 44 percent this year alone, according to U.S. News and World Report.
Walker, a long time opponent of the ACA, began to shift his stance toward the program in February, when he signed a law that allocated $200 million toward stabilizing the state’s health insurance market. Under the plan, the cost will be shared between the state and federal governments.
State Democrats said they supported the proposal to lower premiums by investing in the ACA.
“The cost of healthcare continues to be one of the top concerns for families and small businesses and I’m glad that the Affordable Care Act is helping to hold costs down while expanding access to coverage,” said Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Schilling, D-La Crosse, in a Thursday press release.
Schilling and other Democrats have called for Walker to accept federal funding to expand Medicaid in the state since 2010, arguing it would take a burden off Wisconsin taxpayers, while also expanding access to and improving the quality of public programs like Badgercare.
“It’s time for Gov. Walker to stop shifting more costs onto Wisconsin taxpayers and start putting the wellbeing of Wisconsin residents – and our state’s fiscal security – ahead of his personal political ambitions,” Shilling said in the release.
So far, Walker’s rejection of federal funds has cost Wisconsin taxpayers $1.07 billion more than if the state had fully expanded BadgerCare, according to the Legislature's nonpartisan budget office.
