Yes, Wisconsin Governor Scott (I'm Running for President) Walker is still hard at work screwing residents of Wisconsin for extremist ideologues, billionaire donors, and, particularly, the approval of Republican Presidential Primary voters. His latest efforts at destroying our fine state are courtesy of his latest budget which, instead of accepting federal funds to expand Medicaid, reduces the qualification for Medicaid from those whose incomes were 200% of the poverty level to 100% of the poverty level.
Gov. Scott Walker's administration is notifying 92,000 people this month that their health insurance through BadgerCare Plus will end this year, requiring them to buy potentially more costly commercial health coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
The notification letters are reigniting the debate over Walker's decision to reject additional federal money under what's commonly known as Obamacare to expand BadgerCare Plus. That decision is costing the state $119 million in its two-year budget.
Yes, he wants to kick people off Medicaid and steer them to the federal exchanges (Walker refused to set up state exchanges) so they'll need to pay much more out of their very thin pockets. The result, he hopes, is that he can make them hate ObamaCare rather than place the blame where it truly belongs: on Scott Walker and his band of Not So Merry Men who not only decided to refuse to expand Medicaid, but to slash the qualifications for Medicaid (called BadgerCare in Wisconsin) itself.
BadgerCare Plus has covered adults with children under 19 in households with incomes up to 200% of the federal poverty threshold, or $47,100 for a family of four. The state picked up about 40% of the cost; the federal government picked up the balance.
Under the plan put in place by Walker and the Legislature, that coverage would stop at 100% of the threshold — $23,550 for a family of four.
Even with subsidies, people will be paying more for coverage on the exchanges than they have been paying for Medicaid (BadgerCare). For hardworking people with limited incomes already, this change will be devastating.
On Monday, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), a strong supporter of the federal law, wrote a letter to Walker saying his approach could lead to confusion or loss of coverage among some BadgerCare recipients.
"Instead of playing political games with people's health care and calling for repealing, defunding or delaying the (Affordable Care Act), it is my sincere hope that you will lead on the law's implementation because you have a shared responsibility to make sure it works for Wisconsin," Baldwin wrote.
Wisconsin health care professionals and hospitals have already expressed concerns about Walkers refusal to expand Medicaid. To placate them (many are donors), he's established a fund to reimburse health care providers over $73 million in taxpayer dollars every year. However, that's just a bandaid to cover a serious wound so hospitals will likely continue to shift the costs of unreimbursed care to those who pay and that will continue the upward spiral of health care and insurance costs, something ObamaCare is trying to reduce.
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It's not like taxpayers in Wisconsin are going to save under Walkers Medicaid decision. In fact, we're going to pay MORE to cover FEWER PEOPLE.
Gov. Scott Walker's plan for avoiding a full expansion of the BadgerCare program under the federal health care law would cost Wisconsin taxpayers roughly $250 million more through 2020, under preliminary estimates by the Legislature's nonpartisan budget office.
In addition to lower state costs, the full expansion of the Medicaid health program would also cover tens of thousands more people than the Republican governor's proposal.
"It's clear that Governor Walker has chosen an option that will cover fewer people and cost the state more in this budget and through 2020. His option would cost us a quarter of a billion dollars more (than a full expansion)," said Rep. Jon Richards (D-Milwaukee), who requested the memo.
Several Tea Party Governors have expanded Medicaid and set up state health insurance exchanges because they know it will help their state, lower costs, and assist their budgets. Unlike Walker, however, none of them is running for President, so common sense, budgetary concerns, and the welfare of their residents become more important than political opportunism.
The Fiscal Bureau estimated that a full Medicaid expansion would cost the state $67 million more through 2020 than it would to keep the state's current programs in place without change. Walker's proposal would cost the state $320 million more through 2020.
Advocates for the uninsured said they worry about the effects of Walker's plan on the tens of thousands of low-income adults who would be pushed out of BadgerCare. They say that those recipients might not have enough income to buy coverage through the federal exchanges and could lose their health care.
It's sad to see the rug deliberately pulled out from under the feet of hardworking people who struggle to support themselves and their families. Disregarding the heath and lives of people for political reasons is shameful, but these guys feel no shame ever.
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