Republicans say new study bolsters argument against Medicaid

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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republican lawmakers say a new study bolsters their position against Wisconsin accepting an expansion of the federal Medicaid program.

The conservative law firm Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty wrote the report along with the Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The report, released on Tuesday, found that accepting additional federal Medicaid money would shift costs to people on private insurance at a cost of $600 million a year.

Gov. Tony Evers plans to use his state budget to propose accepting federal money to offer Medicaid to more people than it is now. But the Republicans who control the Legislature have long been opposed to such a move.

Sen. Chris Kapenga said the report provides “hard numbers” to back up the argument he and others have been making against accepting the Medicaid expansion. He joined three other Republicans at a news conference to release the report.