Republicans Say New Study Bolsters Argument Against Medicaid

Republican state lawmakers say a new study bolsters their position against Wisconsin accepting federal Medicaid expansion.

The report released on Tuesday determined that accepting federal Medicaid expansion would shift costs to people on private insurance at a cost of $600 million a year.

The conservative law firm Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty co-wrote the report along with the Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

But Democrats and health care advocates are dismissing the report.

ABC for Health attorney Bobby Peterson called the research “half-baked and half a loaf” that “pushes a political agenda and not serious debate.” Citizen Action of Wisconsin director Robert Kraig said national research has established that “Medicaid expansion increases access to healthcare for working people struggling to get ahead while also reducing the cost of private health insurance.”

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers plans to propose accepting federal money to expand Medicaid in his state budget. But Republicans who control the Legislature have long opposed such a move.

Republican Sen. Chris Kapenga said the report provides “hard numbers” to back up the argument he and others have been making against accepting expansion. He joined three other Republicans at a news conference to release the report.