Walker Signs Waiver to Lower ACA Costs
Democrats charge his approach is a “sabotage of health care law."
Governor Scott Walker. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
Gov. Scott Walker signed what he calls the Wisconsin Health Care Stability Plan on Sunday, saying the plan requires the state to keep coverage “comprehensive and affordable.”
Thanks to a federal waiver from the Affordable Care Act, the state will use $200 million in state and federal funds to cover some insurer costs.
The federal waiver was approved by the Legislature in February and then approved by the federal government. It will create a reinsurance program for people on the individual market and will cover some insurer costs.
“We just wanted to fix as much as we could. The problems that people face today and so presumably five years from now, there will probably be some changes we can adapt to, but in the meantime we want to give people meaningful relief so that premiums will go down,” Walker said.
But he said the newly approved plan waiver will help those individuals, without saying how many people would benefit from the plan.
Options for people in the individual market will go up and rates will go down on the individual market, Walker said.
The waiver will go into effect in January and last five years.
“We believe that, conservatively, this will provide an 11 percent reduction from where premiums would have gone up had we done nothing in 2018,” Walker said. “And an outright reduction of at least 3.5 percent on average from where they’re at effective January 2019.”
The Democratic Party of Wisconsin issued a statement, calling the move “sabotage of the health care law.” DPW claimed Walker has refused to expand BadgerCare and supports a lawsuit that would end protections for people with pre-existing conditions.
Listen to WPR Report here.
Walker Signs Waiver To Lower ACA Costs was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
It’s a good gesture. And they said its temporary relief. I’m just curious to see if there’s any follow up on a more permanent solution.
The temporary relief sowsnr change anything, it just shifts money around. And as noted in the article, there’s no indicating of from or to.
America has the highest health care prices per actual work performed in the world. It stands to reason that there’s a way to lower prices across the board, without impacting service. Other countries have done it. EVERY other country has done it, better than we have.
Its not hard to improve. We could literally shoot a dart at a map, and then adopt that country’s policies to the letter, and that would be better.
ACA was a definite improvement over what we had back 2010. Then the Republcans started to tinker with it. They could not outright appeal it (they tried 60 times; the last time when they controlled the House, Senate and White House). Instead, they underfunded it attacked components that made it financially viable for insurance providers and now, they are going after the pre-existing conditions clause. All their tinkering has not improved health care in this country. On the contrary, they are setting up health care to be an exclusive privilege of those who can afford it. In so doing, they are driving up the cost of health care for everyone. Why? Because they will do anything to destroy the legacy of President Obama, the first African American president. The ACA is a particular target of the Republicans because Obama adopted the Republican health care plan.
Scott Walker had the means to reduce our healthcare premiums 7 years ago. He could have implemented ACA in Wisconsin and accepted Federal money. He chose not too and Wisconsinites have been paying higher premiums ever since. This bone he is throwing to Wisconsin residents now is nothing more than an attempt to cover up how his racist dispute with Obama hurt and continues to inflict pain on Wisconsin voters.
It is well past time that we elect a governor who cares more about Wisconsinites than his political party.
Thank God for Minnesota!
Is this plan the first step to get rid of the Medicare or social security?