Planned
Parenthood’s presence in BadgerCare as well as the Affordable Care Act
continues to be a topic of conflict. Students lacking health insurance or relying
on care from Options Clinic in La Crosse may be affected by changes recently
made to BadgerCare in Wisconsin.
On December 4th
the Wisconsin State Assembly approved Governor Scott Walker’s proposal to delay
implementing changes to BadgerCare, including a provision to cut about 70,000
individuals off from existing coverage. The proposal passed also means 80,000
uninsured Wisconsinites must wait until April 1st to access new
health insurance benefits initially promised by January 1st. Planned
Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin believe that Governor Walker’s move to delay
BadgerCare will only contribute to the likelihood of insurance gaps for those
in need of affordable health care in Wisconsin.
In a press
release, Tanya Atkinson, Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of
Wisconsin states, “We call on Governor Walker and legislative leadership to
reverse their decision and accept federal funds available for Wisconsin. This
would allow more people to have health insurance and ultimately cost the state
less money,” Atkinson adds, “It’s time to take the politics out of the debate
around health care access and make sure all Wisconsin families can obtain
affordable coverage.”
PPAW believes Governor Walker has
drastically reduced individual’s access to affordable healthcare by cutting funding
to health care providers and denying federal resources to enhance health care
coverage. Specifically, Governor Walker’s refusal to implement the Affordable
Care Act, commonly termed ObamaCare, has raised healthcare premiums in the
Wisconsin marketplace.
PPAW plan to
continue serving over 70,000 patients annually across the state as a
non-profit, health care facility regardless of insurance status.
