Federal Government is $28 trillion in debt and unlikely to keep funding promises $23 billion in ARPA, CARES Act and other federal COVID-19 aid negates need for more federal Medicaid reimbursement Wisconsin’s current system has no waiting list, unlike other states Wisconsin’s working poor can already find inexpensive private coverage on the federal exchange Expansion in other states has not proven to save money, improve health outcomes, or improve healthcare access
By Lexi Dittrich In the 2021-2023 state budget, Governor Tony Evers has once again proposed accepting the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid Expansion plan being pushed by the Biden Administration. Under the Medicaid Expansion proposal, the federal government would temporarily increase their share of the cost of the behemoth state Medical Assistance (MA) plan if Wisconsin forces those who earn up to 138% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) off of the private health insurance exchange and onto MA. The Governor included the Medicaid Expansion plan in his 2019-2021 budget, but the Wisconsin Legislature rejected the idea then over concerns that accepting the temporary enhanced federal reimbursement rate would put Wisconsin taxpayers on the hook for a large spending increase in the future.