MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The Latest on Gov. Tony Evers and state budget (all times local):
12:40 p.m.
Wisconsin Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is accusing Democratic Gov. Tony Evers of “empty rhetoric” as the governor pushes for Medicaid expansion.
Vos reacted Thursday to Evers saying he will “fight like hell” to get Medicaid expansion approved in the budget. Republicans plan to vote to kill his proposal next week.
Vos said at a news conference that Evers isn’t telling the whole story of what expansion would mean. Vos says it will shift more costs to taxpayers as roughly half of the 82,000 people expected to be covered would give up heavily subsidized private insurance to get on the partially-funded state BadgerCare plan.
Evers says the public is on his side and called on them to put pressure on Republicans who control the Legislature.
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10:48 a.m.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers says he will “fight like hell” to expand Medicaid in Wisconsin, even though Republican legislative leaders plan to kill his proposal next week.
Evers and Democrats vowed at a news conference Thursday to save the proposal and called on voters to pressure Republicans to compromise. They cited public opinion polls that showed a wide majority of support for Medicaid expansion.
Evers says “We’re not giving up.”
The Republican co-chairs of the Legislature’s budget committee on Wednesday said they will remove his Medicaid expansion plan and a host of other Evers priorities in a single vote next week. They’ve long opposed expanding Medicaid, even as some Republican lawmakers say they’re open to compromise.
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8:59 a.m.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers plans to react to Republican plans to kill most of his major proposals, including Medicaid expansion, raising the minimum wage and legalizing medical marijuana.
Evers proposed all of that in more in his two-year state budget. But Republicans who control the Legislature’s budget-writing committee say they will vote next week to remove all of those items and more from the proposal.
Evers planned a news conference on Thursday to react.
Evers has pointed to public opinion polls showing broad support for legalizing medical marijuana and accepting the federal Medicaid expansion. Evers’ budget is built around taking that money, which frees up $1.6 billion for other health care spending.
Republicans have been clear since he introduced the budget that much of it would be rejected.
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