Tony Evers challenges Scott Walker to drop Obamacare lawsuit
Democrat Tony Evers challenged GOP Gov. Scott Walker to drop his Obamacare lawsuit Monday as Walker and his running mate insisted they would make sure those with pre-existing conditions are covered if they win in court.
"Scott Walker, if you're watching, I have a challenge for you," Evers said in an online video. "If you want to protect the millions of Wisconsinites with a pre-existing condition, drop Wisconsin from this lawsuit today because actions speak louder than empty political promises."
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Walker and Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch have pledged to call a special legislative session to require coverage of pre-existing conditions if they succeed with their lawsuit against Obamacare, which is formally known as the Affordable Care Act.
Evers, the state schools superintendent, contends Walker should drop the lawsuit to keep the pre-existing conditions provision of Obamcare in place.
Kleefisch on Monday said there was a "fundamental misunderstanding about what protects people with preexisting conditions."
"He seems to be under the impression that only Obamacare can protect people with preexisting conditions. Not true. And this is something that if you want to be governor you should probably know," Kleefisch said during a campaign stop in Glendale. "My reaction to that was, 'This guy is in charge of teaching our kids, and he doesn't know this?' "
Asked why Walker and Republicans haven't yet passed a bill to protect people with preexisting conditions in the eight years that they've controlled the Legislature, Kleefisch said it was a matter of urgency.
"Before this, there was not the ACA lawsuit and therefore the issue of urgency," she said. "It was not an immediate need."
Evers and other Democrats also back other aspects of that law, such as one that allows parents to keep their children on their insurance plans up to age 26.
A separate state law requires insurers to allow parents to keep their children on their plans up to that age. Like Evers, Walker says he supports that requirement.
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Walker this year authorized GOP Attorney General Brad Schimel to file his lawsuit with 19 other states to overturn Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act.
Kleefisch and Evers are both cancer survivors and are noting that as they make their cases on how they want to handle health care. Evers referred to his esophageal cancer in Monday's video and Kleefisch discussed her colon cancer in an ad released last week.
In an interview last week, Kleefisch called Obamacare an "abomination" and touted Walker's $200 million plan to stabilize insurance prices for individuals who get coverage through the Obamacare marketplaces.