Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed healthcare plan could impact low-income state citizens who, if taken off Medicaid under the proposed plan, may not purchase private, federally subsidized care, according to research cited by an expert on public health policy.
Walker, who first announced his healthcare proposal Feb.14, said rather than following a federally recommended Medicaid expansion within the state, he would reallocate healthcare coverage based on individual income and whether or not covered adults have children.
Walker’s proposed plan, according to University of Wisconsin-Madison Researcher and Health Policy Director Donna A. Friedsam, would take Medicaid coverage away from previously qualified adults with children and leave them to join a private insurance plan, which she said advocates for federal Medicaid expansion claim may result in low-income families without healthcare.
Research shows citizens removed from state healthcare coverage do not necessarily purchase private insurance, according to Friedsam, because they either cannot afford it or do not believe they need it for the future.
In a Friday release, the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau reported Walker’s healthcare proposal could end up costing state taxpayers $250 million more than if Walker accepted federal funding from the Affordable Care Act, because Walker’s system relies more heavily on state funds to operate.
According to Friedsam, advocates for federal healthcare funding in Wisconsin claim accepting the funds is in taxpayers’ best interest, because state citizens are already paying federal taxes, which ideally, should stay within the state.
“If Wisconsin doesn’t participate in this program, the federal dollars that Wisconsin taxpayers pay are going to go to other states,” Friedsam said.
