Evers calls for withdrawing from Obamacare lawsuit in Eau Claire visit

Jan. 24--Gov. Tony Evers reiterated his intention to withdraw Wisconsin from a lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act during a visit Wednesday to Eau Claire.

Despite claims by some state Republicans that such a move would be illegal following a law GOP legislators enacted during a lame-duck session after November's election, the Democratic governor vowed to press forward on following through on his campaign promise.

"I've asked the attorney general (Josh Kaul) to remove us from that lawsuit that is actively trying to remove us from the Affordable Care Act and all the benefits that the program has, and we'll see what the attorney general does with it moving forward," Evers told reporters after tours of Marshfield Medical Center-Eau Claire Hospital and Chippewa Valley Technical College the morning after his first State of the State speech.

"The attorney general will not do something that's illegal, and I trust him to decide how to move forward," Evers said.

The governor called it important for the state to be consistent in its approach to protecting coverage for people with pre-existing conditions.

"It seems totally hypocritical for us at one point to say we have to figure out how to take care of this in the state and on the other hand say we really want to prevent the federal government from having protections for pre-existing conditions," Evers said. "You can't have it both ways."

In another departure from Republican legislative leaders and his predecessor, former GOP Gov. Scott Walker, Evers said he plans to include in his budget proposal a plan for the state to expand Medicaid eligibility to nearly 80,000 Wisconsin residents under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

While Republican leaders have staunchly opposed that action, Evers said he campaigned and was elected in part based on advocating for accepting federal money for the Medicaid expansion and suggested GOP lawmakers might soften their stance if they heard from enough residents.

"We're going to rally the troops across the state," Evers said. "I'm hoping that the people of Wisconsin will be active in this budget process and convince their legislators otherwise."

Evers said the priorities he emphasized in his State of the State speech, and plans to include in his proposed 2019-21 budget, stem from feedback he received from Wisconsinites as he traveled the state during the gubernatorial campaign.

"I feel an incredible obligation to follow through on the things that were important to them," he said.

Several regional Republican lawmakers issued statements after Evers' speech expressing optimism about working cooperatively with the new governor while also defending GOP policies they say have resulted in a strong economy.

Sen. Kathy Bernier, R-Lake Hallie, cautioned that "Wisconsin can't afford to go on a spending spree that will damage our vibrant economy."

"I strongly disagree with the Governor's assertion that our economy needs to be fixed considering the tremendous progress we've made over the past eight years," Bernier said in a statement. "Not long ago, Wisconsin faced billion dollar deficits, record unemployment and double digit tax increases. Since then, we've turned Wisconsin around. These days, businesses are expanding, budgets are balanced, taxes are down and more people are working than ever before."

Evers said he disagrees with Bernier's implication that the state's historically low unemployment rate means there isn't anything left to do for the economy, maintaining that 800,000 Wisconsin families are still struggling to afford food, rent and child care. He insisted his proposals will be fully funded and still will allow for a middle class tax cut.

Asked about possibilities for bipartisanship in this new era of divided government, Evers said the GOP-controlled Legislature should start by following the usual custom and taking up his budget proposal instead of crafting their own, as some Republican leaders have discussed. Evers acknowledged that neither side could expect to get everything they want in the budget process.

"The budget I present is going to be the will of the people, so I'm hopeful that the Legislature will take that on," he said. "Then we can do battle and come up with some common ground."

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