Republican state lawmakers are poised Tuesday to move forward with their own spending plan for Medicaid in Wisconsin after rejecting Gov. Tony Evers’ proposal to expand it.
The state Legislature’s budget committee is scheduled to vote on funding for a number of state programs Tuesday afternoon, including Medicaid, which GOP leaders and the Democratic governor have clashed over since before Evers took office.
Republicans have already voted to remove the Medicaid expansion from the budget, along with dozens of other proposals, but Tuesday’s meeting is when they’ll take a definitive vote on the state’s Medicaid spending plan.
Under the governor’s proposal, Wisconsin would accept more federal money to extend Medicaid, called BadgerCare in Wisconsin, to people who earn up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level.
That would provide coverage to about 80,000 more individuals, according to the Evers administration, and save the state about $320 million over two years.
Evers has said he will “fight like hell” for the expansion, against Republican opposition.
Democrats on the budget-writing Joint Finance Committee held a press conference before the committee meeting Tuesday afternoon, calling for Republicans to walk back their opposition.
“It’s a cruel choice for the people we could cover and it’s a fiscally irresponsible choice,” said Rep. Chris Taylor, D-Madison.
Rep. Evan Goyke, D-Milwaukee, pointed out Evers campaigned heavily on accepting the expansion.
“The people of Wisconsin knew what they were buying — they want the Medicaid expansion,” Goyke said.
The governor’s proposal would use the $320 million freed up under his plan to invest in other programs that come with matching or additional federal funds. Evers’ office says that would bring up to $1.6 billion in federal money into the state.
Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, said rejecting those additional funds essentially means Wisconsin taxpayers aren’t seeing the benefits they pay for on their federal tax bill.
“We’re leaving hundreds of millions of Wisconsinites’ dollars out in Washington, D.C.,” Erpenbach said. “We’re paying twice for something we’re getting once.”
Erpenbach said Democrats have been working to push individual Republicans to “keep an open mind” regarding the expansion. He criticized GOP members for following party leadership lockstep.
Republicans have been steadfast in their opposition to the Medicaid expansion for several years.
Former Gov. Scott Walker first rejected the federal Medicaid expansion in 2014. He argued expanding Medicaid could come with unexpected costs for the state down the road and would increase insurance costs in the private market.
Republicans lawmakers carried on that argument during this debate.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said at the state Republican Party convention last month he and his colleagues would accept the expansion “over their dead bodies.”
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Wisconsin is one of 14 states that hasn’t taken the additional federal money.
Editor’s note: This story will be updated.