Gov. Scott Walker announced Thursday he would call a special legislative session to extend the BadgerCare deadline three months from Jan. 1 to March 31, allowing enrollees time to sign up for Affordable Care Act insurance plans by the March 31 federal deadline.
Walker said he would take “decisive” action to make sure people have time to navigate the so-far faulty federal health exchange and do not “fall through the cracks.”
“I have every reason to believe that the [special session] bills will pass with broad bipartisan support,” Walker said, while also emphasizing the importance of the bill. “For us, it’s more important to set politics and disagreements aside.”
The governor also criticized the Obama administration, placing the blame for the faulty system squarely on Washington. He described the Obama administration as “a federal government that cannot get a basic website running that they’ve known for several years.”
State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, echoed Walker’s view in a statement, saying Wisconsin’s congressional Democrats were doing nothing to help the situation. He also accused Washington politicians of continuing to “spin wheels and point fingers” instead of developing real solutions.
Conversely, state Rep. Sandy Pasch, D-Shorewood, said in a statement Walker’s repeated refusal for funding to strengthen BadgerCare and develop a Wisconsin-specific health care exchange were main reasons enrollees were facing problems in the first place.
Walker said he expects to see the state Legislature act on the bill sometime after Thanksgiving.
