Wisconsin holds off on implementing the Affordable Care Act

Talk about it

Wisconsin isn’t the only state waiting until after the November election before it decides to adopt President Obama’s health care reform law.

Republican governors in Nebraska and Virginia have joined Scott Walker in waiting to see if Mitt Romney wins the White House in November, and how quickly he would work to throw out the Democrats’ health package.

States control two major parts of the law – expanding Medicaid and creating Internet-based exchanges to help low-income people buy private insurance. About a half-dozen states, including Wisconsin, have announced plans to forego the Medicaid expansion, calling it an underfunded entitlement.

Last week, the Obama administration said people won’t be fined for not having health insurance in states which turn down the Medicaid expansion.

Wisconsin Health Secretary Dennis Smith says there’s a cost to the extra federal funding that goes with the expansion of Medicaid, and states won’t lose Medicaid dollars regardless of what happens.

At a meeting of the National Governors Association, some state leaders said they’re worried about taking the extra federal money because Washington might pull it at any time. That would leave states on the hook for spending increases.

Walker says governors are complaining among themselves about the federal government’s record on special education. Congress promised in 1975 to pay 40 percent of all school special ed programs, but that commitment has fallen far short over the years.

Police chiefs want background checks

If Wisconsin police chiefs have their way, all gun buyers will have to undergo background checks, not just those who buy from federally licensed dealers.

The Wisconsin Chiefs of Police Association has joined the National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence in lobbying for the expanded background checks. They’re expected to meet with the state’s U.S. Senate candidates over the next couple days to discuss a possible federal law on the subject.

The two groups also plan to hold a news conference in Madison Tuesday to urge Congress to do something. Doug Pettit, who chairs the police chiefs’ legislative committee, says people who cannot legally possess guns would be prevented from obtaining them if background checks were required for all gun sales.

Tags: news, health, politics, wisconsin