Federal funds rejected to expand BadgerCare, so how much did it cost Wisconsin?

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- How much did Gov. Scott Walker's decision to reject federal funds to expand BadgerCare cost Wisconsin? A new government report says the number is much higher than initially thought.

When he made the decision, Gov. Walker argued he was protecting Wisconsin taxpayers -- because the state could not count on promises from the federal government.

But a new report from the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau shows if Gov. Walker had accepted the money, Wisconsin taxpayers would have saved $206 million over two years -- and an additional 87,000 people could have signed up for BadgerCare.

"By not covering people, by not accepting federal funds, the state's paying more," said Kevin Kane of Citizen Action of Wisconsin, a group which advocates for expanded insurance coverage.

Kane is a health care policy expert. He says the decision had a $141 million impact on the Milwaukee County economy.

"These federal funds would have come into our county, would have gone to doctors, to hospitals, to clinics to help pay for things like prevention but also go to doctors visits, but would have gone to hire people," said Kane.

It is one of the key differences between Gov. Walker and the Democratic candidate for governor, Mary Burke.

"First and foremost we needed to accept the federal Medicaid money. This is Wisconsin's taxpayer money that we pay in to Washington.   As Governor, I would fight to make sure we have as much of this money coming back into Wisconsin," said Burke.

"There's two different views of the world.  One measures success by how many people are dependent on the government, by how many people are on Medicaid and food stamps and unemployment -- that's their measure of success, how many people they think they help with those programs.  My measure of success is just the opposite," said Gov. Walker.

CLICK HERE to read the memo that provide information on a state policy option to increase BadgerCare Plus income eligibility standards.

CLICK HERE to sign up for BadgerCare Plus.

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