Reinsurance scam isn't nearly enough to erase Walker/WisGOP sabotage of the ACA

With a new year of ACA exchange rates coming out in October, you can bet it'll be a big deal ahead of an election where health care is at the top of the list of issues. This is especially true in Wisconsin, as Governor Walker put together a plan to spend $200 million in state and federal tax dollars to subsidize insurance companies in an attempt to keep exchange rates down ahead of next month's elections.

We found out some of that information this week, and Governor Walker used the occasion to try to claim victory.

Our Health Care Stability Plan is lowering premiums for those on Obamacare by an avg of 4.2% in 2019. That’s $992 in average annual savings! pic.twitter.com/pMTffs2pyD

— Governor Walker (@GovWalker) October 11, 2018

However, like many things in WalkerWorld, that claim leaves out a lot of a context and history. And Dr. Robert Kraig of Citizen Action laid out the overall numbers which show Walker’s pre-election “reform” is cosmetic at best, and still falls far short of similar efforts on reinsurance that are happening on the other side of the Saint Croix River.

The initiative Walker is touting, so-called reinsurance, benefits less than 1% of Wisconsin’s health care consumers. This is because it does not provide any price relief for people who get their health care through their jobs, through Medicare, or BadgerCare. It only benefits the small number of people who buy health insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplace who make too much money to receive federal affordability tax credits. Only 5% of Wisconsin health care consumers buy insurance on the individual market, and 83% receive federal tax credits which offset any premium increases.

Second, Walker’s election year hyperbole misrepresents his actual health care record. Even if we consider the one year premium decrease for a small number of Wisconsinites Walker is touting, his record of sabotage compares very unfavorably with neighboring Minnesota, which has embraced and built on the Affordable Care Act. According to a[n] analysis of 2019 individual marketplace premiums conducted by Citizen Action of Wisconsin today, Minnesota’s premiums are decreasing for 2019 by double the amount that Wisconsin’s for a benchmark plan (13% vs 6%). As a result, the well know[n] cost advantage Minnesota has over Wisconsin actually is increasing, from 45% more expensive in Wisconsin in 2018 to 59% more expensive in 2019." This means the average 40 year old Minnesotan who buys a benchmark plan on their own and does not qualify for a federal tax credit will pay premiums of almost $200 less per month than a 40 year old Wisconsinite. ($533 per month for premiums in Wisconsin vs. $335 in Minnesota for a 40 year old purchasing the benchmark plan on their own without a federal tax credit).

In addition, like a lot of other things with Walker, this one-time improvement doesn’t come close to repairing the damage he and his fellow Wisconsin Republicans have done in prior years. Kraig notes that it's a price many Wisconsinites will still be literally paying for in 2019.

Third, Walker’s election year representations on health care do not take into account the cost of his sabotage of the Affordable Care Act. According to numbers compiled from independent research by Citizen Action, Walker’s actions have increased premiums on individual market by at least 17%, and Donald Trump’s sabotage of the ACA has increased premiums by at least 18%.

“The fact of the matter is that Scott Walker has never made meaningful health care reform a focus of his administration, and Wisconsin families are paying the price with high premiums, skyrocketing deductibles, and unaffordable prescription medications,” said Robert Kraig, Executive Director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin. “No amount of election year spin can cover up Scott Walker’s abysmal health care record. Walker may find it politically necessary in an election year to pretend to care about affordability, but 7 years of sabotage reveals that he has played politics with the lives of Wisconsinites who are struggling to afford health care.”

And let's not forget that in addition to premiums, Walker's Administration has done nothing to control the COST side of health care, as shown by the Wallethub survey from August, which showed Wisconsin had the 5th highest health care costs in the US, and the highest costs in the Midwest.

We cannot stand by and allow these cherry-picked deceptions by Walker and WisGOP to stand, and we cannot allow them another term in office where they will go back to wrecking the ability of Wisconsinites to get health care that both covers them while not making them go broke in the process.