The Refusal to Expand Badgercare is Bad for Wisconsin's Economy

Refusal to Expand Badgercare is in the Budget

One of the provisions of the budget that was recently signed by Governor Walker is the refusal to expand Badgercare (our Medicaid program) as a part of the implementation of The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Under the Affordable Care Act, most people will be required to have health insurance.  Some of those who cannot afford health insurance will receive assistance in paying for it, but many people are too poor to pay for health insurance even with help, and the expansion of Badgercare was intended to provide insurance for them.  Federal dollars are available for those states that decide to expand their Medicaid programs.

174,000 People To Be Denied Assistance

Governor Walker and his radical rightist colleagues in the legislature decided to refuse to expand Badgercare, and in an extremely cynical move, actually reduced the number of people who are currently eligible for Badgercare with the excuse that they will now be able to buy their own insurance through the health insurance exchange created by The Affordable Care Act. It is estimated that because of the refusal to expand Badgercare, 174,000 people will be denied the health insurance that they would have been entitled to under the Affordable Care Act. This includes 98,000 people who are now enrolled in Badgercare who will be kicked out of the program under the newly narrowed guidelines. Kicking these people out of Badgercare is cynical, cruel and completely contrary to the values of most people in Wisconsin, but that is not all. 

Our Economy is Harmed in Several Ways

The refusal to expand Badgercare harms our economy in several other ways.

1.       It increases the total cost of healthcare in Wisconsin by promoting the excessive use of emergency rooms. Many of the people who are unable to enroll in Badgercare will be too poor to afford insurance. They will be uninsured, and when they need care, they will go to hospital emergency rooms, which are required to care for them. Emergency room care is the most expensive kind of care. So, the fact that the uninsured have nowhere else to turn increases the total cost of healthcare.

2.       The state government’s expenditure for health care will increase because the budget includes money to compensate the hospitals for caring for the uninsured in emergency rooms. Refusing to expand Badgercare does not even save money for our state government. It will make our deficit worse as is shown by the $500 million structural deficit in the current budget.

3.       Our health insurance premiums will rise. Inevitably, the state’s reimbursement of the hospitals will not cover the whole cost of care for the uninsured. The hospitals will recoup their cost by increasing the charges to the rest of us. Our health insurance companies will pass the cost on to us in the form of increased premiums.

4.       Thousands of jobs will be lost. The expansion of Badgercare would have increased the demand for health care, and that would have created thousands of jobs in Wisconsin. Many of those jobs would have been here in the Fox Cities because our hospitals are regional medical centers. Those jobs would in turn have boosted the economy of our community by creating demand for all sorts of consumer goods here in the Fox Cities.

5.       Our tax money will be sent to other states instead of being returned to us. The money that would have been sent to Wisconsin to help with the cost of the expansion of Badgercare will come from the income taxes that we pay. Now it will be sent to other states instead of being used to benefit us. The amount we will lose is big. It is estimated at approximately $12 billion over ten years.

The Refusal to Expand Badgercare is Contrary to Wisconsin's Values

Thus, the refusal to expand Badgercare not only harms thousands of people unnecessarily. It also increases the state’s deficit, increases the total cost of health are, increases our health insurance premiums, harms our economy by eliminating thousands of jobs and sends our tax money to other states. This is not consistent with our values. Most people in Wisconsin believe in caring for their neighbors, not abandoning them. Most people in Wisconsin believe that we should reduce the cost of state government, not increase it.  Most people in Wisconsin believe that our health insurance premiums are already too high, and that we should avoid increasing them if we can. Most people in Wisconsin believe that we should create jobs, not eliminate them. And most people in Wisconsin believe that we should get our fair share of the benefits from the taxes we pay, not send them to other states.

Is This a Pay-off to Big Special Interests Outside of Wisconsin?

We should ask ourselves why Governor Walker and the other radical rightists in Madison would do something so obviously contrary to the values and wishes of the voters of our state. We cannot know for sure, but in cases of this kind, it is not a bad idea to follow the money. Governor Walker has received millions of dollars in campaign support from radical rightist individuals and organizations outside of Wisconsin, and those organizations expect something in return. Perhaps Governor Walker acted against the interests and desires of the people of Wisconsin as a payoff to the large, special interests that have supported him so generously.