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For Immediate Release
November 17, 2011

 
Legislative Democrats urge Obama Administration to work with state officials to prevent 65,000 Wisconsinites from losing health care
Gov. Walker’s plan to drop health care for 29,000 children is “unacceptable”
 

Today 28 legislative Democrats sent a letter to federal Health and Human Services’ Secretary Kathleen Sebelius urging her agency to work with state officials to achieve savings in the state’s Medicaid and BadgerCare programs without Wisconsin citizens losing or being denied access to affordable health care coverage.

Last week the legislature’s Joint Finance Committee approved a Medicaid savings plan from Gov. Scott Walker’s administration that would result in nearly 65,000 Wisconsinites—including 29,000 children—losing or being denied state health care coverage, according to estimates by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau. 

“We adamantly oppose any Medicaid waiver or State Plan Amendment plan that will effectively result in thousands of children and adults in Wisconsin losing access to health care,” Democrats wrote.  “Governor Walker’s Medicaid waiver request seeks permission to ignore (a federal) requirement so his administration can drop health care coverage for 29,000 children.  While reasonable minds can disagree on how to solve problems, we believe dropping health care for children is an unacceptable option.”  
 
The Democrats’ letter points out that Gov. Walker inserted language into the state budget stipulating that if federal Medicaid officials don’t approve the Walker Medicaid plan by the end of the year, the state health department will effectively be required to drop state health care coverage for approximately 53,000 people.  Democrats flatly rejected that option as nothing more than a “false choice.”
 
Their letter concludes: “We refuse to accept Governor Walker’s politically motivated premise that either 53,000 or 65,000 Wisconsin citizens must lose their health insurance to balance the Medicaid budget.  Therefore, we encourage you to engage with Wisconsin officials soon to explore alternatives that will achieve responsible Medicaid savings while retaining our shared commitment to ensuring that children and families have access to affordable quality health care.”
 
 
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