Wisconsin Republicans Won't Expand Medicaid. Sen. Tammy Baldwin Wants to Do It for Them.
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Wisconsin Republicans Won't Expand Medicaid. Baldwin Wants to Do It for Them.
After watching Wisconsin Republicans repeatedly refuse to expand BadgerCare coverage for 91,000 low-income Wisconsinites, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) on Monday introduced the Medicaid Saves Lives Act, which would create a federal program similar to Medicaid that would be accessible in states that have not taken the Medicaid expansion.
“Right now, [Wisconsin Republicans] are denying the quality coverage that BadgerCare provides to someone working and only making $13,000 a year. That’s just wrong,” Baldwin said in a statement. “Our legislation will open the door to those who have been shut out and expand access to affordable health care, including preventive care, that people want and need.”
Wisconsin is one of just 12 states that haven't accepted extra federal funding to expand Medicaid, known in Wisconsin as BadgerCare. The expansion would extend coverage to people who earn up to $17,300 per year, rather than the current eligibility cap of $12,800 per year. Because of Republicans' repeated rejections of BadgerCare expansion, the state has also lost out on $1.6 billion in additional federal funding.
"We all want the same thing—to live healthy, happy lives in strong communities. But for tens of thousands of Wisconsinites, that's not possible because they don't have high quality, affordable health care," Robert Kraig, executive director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin, said in a statement.
Baldwin is cosponsoring the bill with Democratic Sens. Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, both of Georgia, another state that has not expanded Medicaid.
—Reported by Christina Lieffring
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