Wisconsin Republicans Are Blocking Affordable Health Care

MADISON, Wis. — Since the Affordable Care Act passed 14 years ago, Wisconsin Republicans have done their best to ensure Wisconsinites don’t have access to affordable health care coverage. From refusing to withdraw from a lawsuit challenging the ACA to repeatedly blocking Medicaid expansion, legislative Republicans have actively worked to make our state sicker.

Republicans have spent 14 years blocking affordable health care in Wisconsin:

• A clear majority of Wisconsin voters support using federal funds to expand Medicaid, but Wisconsin Republicans have blocked every attempt to expand BadgerCare since 2014.
   
• Wisconsin is now one of just ten remaining states that has not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, putting affordable health coverage out of reach for 89,700 Wisconsinites.
   
• If Wisconsin expanded Medicaid, 15,000 uninsured Wisconsinites would have access to no-cost Medicaid coverage for the first time.
   
• Republican refusal to take action comes as two rural hospitals and 19 rural clinics have announced they’re shuttering—a fate which could have been avoided should Wisconsin have enacted Medicaid expansion.
   
• Wisconsin Republicans aren’t content with blocking access to care for rural and low-income Wisconsinites—they’re also keeping coverage out of reach of new moms and babies.
   
• President Biden’s American Rescue Plan built on the progress of the ACA and gave states the option to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage to a year after birth, ensuring new moms and babies have access to care when they’re most vulnerable.
   
• Despite this, Wisconsin is one of just five states that has failed to expand postpartum Medicaid coverage to new moms and babies, leaving as many as 5,300 pregnant Wisconsinites without access to stable health care every month.
   
• But rather than take action to keep our hospitals open and ensure the most vulnerable Wisconsinites receive care, Wisconsin Republicans rejected Medicaid expansion and let postpartum expansion stall when they went home for the year.

“Governor Evers and Wisconsin Democrats have fought for years to bring Medicaid expansion to Wisconsin and extend coverage to tens of thousands more Wisconsinites—but Republicans in Madison have blocked it at every turn,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Haley McCoy. “Wisconsin Republicans have had their chance to do the right thing and increase access to affordable health care, and they’ve failed every step of the way. Come November, Republicans will finally face accountability for their relentless attacks on affordable health care.”

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