Muskego Assembly Rep: NObamaCare in Wisconsin

The focus of Governor Walker and the legislature over the past year has been to create a tax and regulatory environment in Wisconsin that is hospitable to both individuals and job-creating businesses.  Over the past decade, businesses have been bombarded by government with tax increases, fee increases and over-regulation, leading to a slowing or outright stoppage of their efforts to expand their businesses or to hire employees.  While Governor Walker and the current legislature have sent a clear message that increases in taxes and further job-killing regulations are off the table, the potential effects of federal health care reform are another cause for uncertainty for job-creators in Wisconsin.

The myriad of tax increases and regulations built into the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA, also known as ObamaCare) only add to the concerns of Wisconsin job creators. While efforts are afoot in both Congress and the federal courts to stop ObamaCare, the fight against its implementation should be every bit a concern to state legislators as it is to members of Congress.  While Governor Walker has taken steps to block the law’s implementation here in Wisconsin, our legislature needs to put in place further safeguards to insulate our residents and employers from this unconstitutional law going forward.

In addition to the now infamous individual mandate to buy health insurance, ObamaCare attempts to coerce states to take a number of actions that effectively assist the federal government with its implementation.  The two most notable state provisions under ObamaCare are the adoption of state regulations that mirror PPACA standards and the creation of a state-run, federally regulated health insurance purchasing exchange for individuals and businesses. 

Some states are laboring under the illusion that they can implement a consumer-friendly, free-market exchange, hoping their state will have latitude in controlling the outcomes of PPACA.  However, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has demonstrated that states will only serve as the puppet of the federal government by denying requests from the states for flexibility in the law’s implementation.  The ultimate authority over the exchanges, as stipulated in PPACA, rests with the bureaucracy in Washington.  Any notion that states will have autonomy under PPACA has been dashed by the one-size-fits-all regulations trickling out of HHS, further demonstrating the folly in states spending taxpayer dollars to implement this unconstitutional federal power grab. 

While Congress has the ultimate authority to repeal ObamaCare, the Wisconsin legislature must also act to shield our state’s residents and job-creators from the negative impacts of the law.  Last week, Sen. Leah Vukmir (R-Wauwatosa) and I introduced two bills that will require transparency and legislative oversight should a future administration attempt to implement ObamaCare.

The first bill stipulates that no provision of ObamaCare may be implemented in Wisconsin unless it is enacted by the legislature.  The second bill requires state agencies to submit annual reports to the legislature on the impact of ObamaCare in Wisconsin.  These bills will ensure that major decisions governing Wisconsin’s health care and insurance industry will be made only through the stability and predictability of statute while also allowing state legislators and Wisconsin’s congressional delegation to monitor the impact of ObamaCare on the rates of health insurance plans, Medicaid spending, the number of physicians practicing in the state, and the number of insurance companies offering health care plans in the state, as well as other measures. 

While Congress continues to debate the issue of health care reform and the PPACA lawsuit remains unresolved, the legislature must enact protections to ensure access to affordable, high quality health care for Wisconsin families.  Governor Walker’s actions in halting implementation of PPACA are crucial and serve as an example to other states that implementation of ObamaCare is a fool’s errand.  The legislature should act next to ensure long term protections are in place until this unconstitutional law is overturned or repealed.  

State Rep. David Craig represents the 83rd Assembly District, including parts of Walworth, Racine and Waukesha Counties. Rep. Craig can be contacted at Rep.Craig@legis.wisconsin.gov.