Voters in many parts of Wisconsin will have an opportunity next Tuesday (Nov. 4th) to tell state lawmakers whether they should reverse the decision to turn down federal funding to cover more adults in BadgerCare. There are many reasons why people should vote “yes” on that referendum question – to support taking the federal funding – and that list has been getting longer and more compelling every week as new data become available.
A comprehensive overview of reasons to vote yes on the referendum can be found in WCCF’s “top ten” list. Here are some of the areas where new data and reports over the last month or two have strengthened the case for expanding BadgerCare for adults to 138% of the federal poverty level (FPL) and accepting the federal funds:
It would save substantially more than originally estimated – As I explained in this blog post, the cost savings estimate jumped in August, and will probably be even larger when it is next updated. In an August 14 memo, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) estimated that setting the BadgerCare eligibility ceiling for childless adults and parents at 138% of FPL would save Wisconsin taxpayers at least $261 million during the next biennial budget, even if the change isn’t implemented until January 2016. However, that estimate is now probably too low because childless adult enrollment has kept climbing faster than DHS and the LFB projected.
There’s a large shortfall in funding for Medicaid – The Dept. of Health Services budget request projects that the state needs $760 million next session simply to maintain existing programs. As this WI Budget Project blog post explains, the DHS request bolsters the case for expanding BadgerCare because failing to do so is likely to require deep cuts to BadgerCare and Medicaid.
Uninsured rates have dropped much faster in expansion states – Recently released Gallup survey data from across the nation show that the states that have expanded Medicaid eligibility and are operating their own insurance Marketplaces have achieved a much larger drop in the percentage of uninsured people than the so-called “non-expansion” states. Wisconsin’s drop is comparable to that of the other states that have rejected Medicaid expansion funding.
Larger declines in uncompensated care – A similar pattern can be found in the preliminary data and projections related to the effects on uncompensated care in hospitals. A recent report by the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation projects that the cost of uncompensated care is expected to decline 25% in expansion states, versus 9% in non-expansion states.
Expansion states are covering more and spending less – The cost-effectiveness of expanding coverage is reinforced by a recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey of all the state Medicaid agencies. That survey found that Medicaid spending is projected to grow at a faster rate this year in the non-expansion states (+6.8%) than in the states that have expanded eligibility to 138% of FPL (+4.4%).
Don’t forget to vote on Tuesday! On the Citizen Action of Wisconsin website, you can find a map and list of the areas where the BadgerCare referendum is on the Nov. 4th ballot.
Jon Peacock
