Democratic Radio: Medicaid Expansion will lower Health Insurance Premiums in Wisconsin Print
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Written by Wisconsin Assembly Democrats   
Friday, 07 June 2019 10:24

medicaid_checkupMADISON, WI - This week Rep. Evan Goyke (D-Milwaukee) talks about Healthcare in Wisconsin.

Audio File of Radio Address

Hello, this is State Representative Evan Goyke with this week’s Democratic Radio Address.

evangoykeOne of the leading policy research organizations on health care, Health Affairs, released a new study this week showing that expanding Medicaid in Wisconsin will substantially lower health insurance premiums on the individual market. The study compared premiums in Wisconsin to premiums in our neighboring states that expanded Medicaid.

The research found that expanding Medicaid produced insurance premiums that were 19% lower in other Midwestern states as compared to Wisconsin. There is a direct correlation between how much people pay for private health insurance and whether or not a state accepted the Medicaid expansion.

Despite this, Republicans have steadfastly refused to accept the expansion here in Wisconsin. That is real money in real people’s pockets Republicans are turning away.

This comes down to dollars and cents. Expanding Medicaid saves Wisconsin taxpayers $325 million dollars in this budget alone. It also allows us to bring in $1.6 billion dollars in federal funding. Republicans on the Joint Committee on Finance refused that deal.

Instead, they opted to charge state taxpayers an additional $300 million dollars to avoid accepting that billion dollars in federal funds. That is fiscally irresponsible.

Here in Wisconsin, families work hard. We stretch our dollars as far as they’ll go. But not legislative Republicans.

They are wasting your taxpayer dollars and causing your premiums to rise in order to score cheap, political points.

The Health Affairs study shows that Medicaid expansion isn’t just the right thing to do morally, it’s the right financial decision for Wisconsin. Democrats will continue to stand with Governor Evers, and we will continue to fight for Medicaid expansion.

Last Updated on Friday, 07 June 2019 10:37