Poll Indicates Support For Accepting Medicaid Funds, Preserving Health Subsidies

A recent poll by the left-leaning Public Policy Polling group shows that a majority of Wisconsin voters want the state to accept federal Medicaid funding and to preserve federal health care subsidies.

Public Policy Polling found 58 percent of Wisconsin residents recently surveyed want the state to take federal money. Similar results have been found in previous Marquette Law School polls.

Democratic members of the state’s budget writing committee have long pressured the governor to accept the extra Medicaid money. Gov. Scott Walker, however, opposes the Affordable Care Act and has refused to accept the funds, saying the federal money could run out.

Officials who advocate for taking the funds, like Sen. Jon Erpenbach and Reps. Gordon Hintz and Chris Taylor, are now pointing to poll, which they say shows it’s not just them who think Wisconsin should expand BadgerCare.

Erpenbach said Wisconsin could bring in $345 million in federal funds over the next two years.

“Obviously it’s the right thing to do for people that do need that help. But it also helps us in a really, pretty critical budget time in the state,” he said.

The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau has predicted a shortfall of $283 million this fiscal year.

The poll also found that 53 percent of respondents support state action to preserve federal subsidies that help low-income people buy health insurance. A pending U.S. Supreme Court case could end subsidies in a majority of states, including Wisconsin.

State Rep. Chris Taylor said the case could affect 180,000 people in the state.

“This is the governor of the state of Wisconsin. Governor Walker should care about the people in the state of Wisconsin,” she said.

Walker has not said what the state would do if the Supreme Court ends health care subsidies. He has said its the federal government’s problem to solve.