Walker Plan Does Not Make Up for Cost of Sabotage
"Scott Walker now finds it politically convenient in an election year to pretend to care about health care costs..."
Gov. Scott Walker. Photo from the State of Wisconsin.
Statewide: Governor Scott Walker is touting the approval by the Trump Administration of his complicated health insurance scheme that does not even begin to make up for the cost of ongoing efforts to sabotage the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Walker’s complicated scheme called “reinsurance” funnels $200 million in direct public subsidies to insurance companies in the hope that they would lower premiums for some consumers. The proposal does not require that health insurance companies pass on any savings to consumers, and even if they did it would only impact a small percentage of Wisconsinites.
Reinsurance will not help anyone who gets insurance at work or small businesses or most people who buy insurance on their own. Although Governor Walker claims it is focused on people who buy insurance on their own, it will not impact 83% of the Wisconsinites who buy health coverage through the ACA marketplace and receive tax subsidies. Reinsurance will not effect deductibles or copays. It will only modestly help the 17% of enrollees who make too much money to be eligible to federal tax credits
Walker’s press release touts a 3.5% reduction in premiums for some Wisconsinites who buy insurance on the ACA marketplace, a much lower number then what was claimed when the proposal was introduced. But according to the Urban Institute just two of Donald Trump’s acts of sabotage, refusal to enforce the individual mandate and the extension of short term “lemon” health plans will increase premiums by 18.2%.
There are a number of far more effective policy changes that would make health coverage much more affordable if we deployed the full power of state government.
- Opening BadgerCare to everyone in Wisconsin as a public option would reduce premiums and deductibles by an average of 38%. It would also help people who buy insurance on their own and small businesses, most of whom cannot afford to provide coverage to their employees.
- Reversing Walker’s decision to turn down the Medicaid expansion money in the ACA could reduce premiums by about 7%.
- Reversing the Walker Administration’s decision in May to continue to allow the sale of substandard “lemon” plans in Wisconsin could reduce premiums by as much as 10%.
In addition, although Walker has decided to tout what he is doing to stabilize the ACA, he approved the filing of a lawsuit by the Wisconsin Attorney General that would strike down the law, taking health care away to nearly 200,000 Wisconsinites.
“Scott Walker now finds it politically convenient in an election year to pretend to care about health care costs, but 7 years of sabotage of the ACA reveals that he has been more than willing to play politics with the lives of Wisconsinites who do not have good coverage at work,” said Robert Kraig, Executive Director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin. “More corporate subsidies are not the answer. It is a simple truth that only “we the people,” through the agency of our own democratic government, can guarantee health care to everyone in Wisconsin.”
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.
Baloney; Walker was big leader for the Badgercare program while In the legislature. He smartly did not buy into the increased Medicaid as that is wrecking lots of states health programs.
Walker has been placing limits on Badgercare throughout his administration. How is that supporting the program? He could have very easily used the federal money to support Badgercare and lowered the premiums for everyone else. Don’t believe this is true? All you need do is look to our neighbor to the West. Minnesota did accept federal money; did implement ACA and as a result, premiums paid by Minnesotans are 30 to 50 percent lower than what we pay in Wisconsin. BTW, it is not the Medicaid funding that is wreaking havoc on other states’ health programs; it is the continual attack on the ACA Republicans have been waging these last seven years.
Walker and conservatives chose to play politics at the expense of the health and needs of Wisconsin residents.
The Kaiser Family Foundation released this report in March of this year: The Effects of Medicaid Expansion under the ACA: Updated Findings from a Literature Review (https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/the-effects-of-medicaid-expansion-under-the-aca-updated-findings-from-a-literature-review-march-2018/)
Findings:
-Coverage: Studies show that Medicaid expansion states experienced significant coverage gains and reductions in uninsured rates, among the low-income population broadly and within specific vulnerable populations.
-Access to care, utilization, affordability, and health outcomes: Most research demonstrates that Medicaid expansion has positively affected access to care, utilization of services, the affordability of care, and financial security among the low-income population.
-Economic measures: Analyses find positive effects of expansion on numerous economic outcomes, despite Medicaid enrollment growth initially exceeding projections in many states.
Baloney
Great point WCD. Who could possibly find a reason to quibble with a one-word post? You are a gentleman and a scholar.
BS never believe anything coming out California that is huge disaster, almost as bad as illinois, another big Medicaid disaster. Check out Ohio and the mess Kasich had.
Feel free to provide you know actual evidence, like a link or something. Do you even know how to post a link? Have you ever done it? Maybe one of your great-great-grandchildren can show you how.
I am not babysitter, do your own research.
HA priceless. You are a gem WCD.
“Your honor, the defense would like to make clear that there’s precedent for this argument.”
“OK. Cite the case please.”
“Respectfully, I am not a babysitter your honor. Look it up yourself.”
You could not possibly have less credibility WCD. It would make more sense to take the word of a drunk at the end of the bar. Even they probably know how to post a link.