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Obamacare Opponents Support Laws’ Main Purpose

Republicans Say They Want To Maintain High Rates Of Coverage

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Like other states, Wisconsin had fewer people without insurance after the Affordable Care Act went into effect. The rate of uninsured dropped 38 percent.

Republican Rep. Joe Sanfelippo, chair of the Assembly Health Committee, said it’s important not to take coverage away with any health reform plan congressional Republicans come up with to replace the ACA.

“I think that’s probably going to be priority No. 1,” said Sanfelippo, R-New Berlin.

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It’s not just politicians who want to maintain coverage levels.

Eric Borgerding, CEO and resident of the Wisconsin Hospital Association, said, “We now have almost a quarter million people covered via the Obamacare (federal) exchange. And whether you hate or love Obamacare, that’s an undeniable fact.”

In Wisconsin, 234,000 people have purchased private insurance on the federal marketplace so far this year. Borgerding notes more than half of those getting insurance on the federal exchange make less than $29,000 a year and qualified for subsidies that helped pay for coverage.

“That’s important because that has been a very key tool for Wisconsin in achieving the reductions in uninsured that we’ve seen,” Borgerding said. “I think its really important for us, for our state lawmakers, for Gov. Walker to be communicating that at the federal level.”

Along with subsidies, another element of the ACA is the provision allowing those age 26 and under to be on their parent’s health plan. Sanfelippo said that’s not sustainable.

“You want those young healthy people buying insurance and paying premiums,” Sanfelippo said. “So you’re shooting yourself in the foot when you allow them to be on somebody else’s plan until they’re 26 and not paying.”

Insurers across the country left the marketplace in 2016. One reason was they couldn’t attract enough healthy, young customers to help pay for customers who needed more coverage.

Sanfelippo and Borgerding were part of a panel discussion Thursday in Madison put on by Wisconsin Health News. It focused on changes to health care now that Republicans control the White House and Congress.