Dems: Walker Budget Expands Medicaid For Prisoners, But Not For Public

A Democrat on the legislature’s Joint Finance Committee says Governor Walker’s budget appears to favor prison inmates over law-abiding citizens when it comes to using federal Medicaid funds for health care.

The state plans to save almost $17 million in hospital costs for inmates, thanks to changes in the enrollment criteria for Medicaid in the federal Affordable Health Care Act. State Representative Cory Mason of Racine says that contradicts the governor’s unwillingness to expand Medicaid for law-abiding childless adults who would also qualify under the new income guidelines.

“So they’re going to take advantage of one part of the Affordable Care Act to save money for prisoners, but then disregard another part that would enroll up to 175,000 new Wisconsin residents, save the state $100 million, and more importantly lead to better health outcomes for a lot of people.”

Those 175,000 people are single adults who earn between 100 and 133 percent of the federal poverty level, a maximum of about $15,000 a year. They would have been covered by the expanded Medicaid Wisconsin has declined to accept.

UW-Madison Health policy analyst Donna Freidsman says while the budget shift the state is using to save money on inmates is not directly related to Medicaid expansion, there is some truth to Representative Mason’s complaint because inmates have no income, and are automatically below the federal poverty line (FPL).

“Indeed, if you are below 100 percent of FPL you’ll get the same excellent access to health care that prisoners get, congratulations! If you are between 100 and 133 percent of FPL, prisoners may indeed do better than you.”

Democrats like Cory Mason say they expect to hear a lot about Medicaid expansion during upcoming public hearings on the state budget.