Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) announced Monday he is officially running for president in the 2016 election.
He has served as the state's 45th governor since 2011. Previously, he served as MilwaukeeCounty executive. In 1993, he was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly.
Here are 10 things to know about Gov. Walker's views on healthcare issues.
1. He is against Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. In 2013, Gov. Walker refused to expand Medicaid in Wisconsin under the Affordable Care Act.And last fall, Gov. Walker defended his fellow Republican governors' decision to block Medicaid expansion in their states, suggesting that denying health coverage to additional low-income Americans helps more people "live the American Dream" because they won’t be "dependent on the American government," according to ThinkProgress.
2. Gov. Walker expanded BadgerCare Plus, a healthcare coverage program for low-income Wisconsin residents,tocover adults who previously were not eligible for Medicaid — basically those below the poverty threshold and without dependent children, according to a report from PolitiFact Wisconsin. According to the report, the federal government will pay about 60 percent of the cost, just as it does for other adults covered by the state's Medicaid programs.
3. Gov. Walker declined to set up a state marketplace, which means that Wisconsin residents had to enroll through the federal HealthCare.gov. He made the announcement in 2012, less than 24 hours after President Obama's administration gave states such as Wisconsin more time to decide whether to set up the exchanges, according to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report. According to the report, Gov. Walker argued that Wisconsin has been able to provide health insurance to more than 90 percent of state residents without a healthcare exchange; wouldn't have enough freedom to design the exchange under the federal government's rules; and could face undisclosed costs to Wisconsin taxpayers by running the exchange itself. He has stuck to his position.
4. He has been critical of the ACA. In April, just months prior to the Supreme Court's decision to uphold subsidies provided to Americans through the federal insurance exchange, he suggested he would not have allowed his state to set up a healthcare exchange if the Supreme Court struck down a portion of the ACA, according to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report. In the event that the subsidies were struck down, he said his state would "push back" against any federal pressure to establish an exchange. "This president of the United States — they've got to come up with a solution....They're going to try to put the pressure on us but we need to put the pressure right back on them," he said, according to the report.
5. Over the weekend, he signed the state budget that includes changes related to drug testing. In the budget, Gov. Walker tweaked a provision requiring some people to take drug tests to qualify for food stamps, according to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report. According to the report, Gov. Walker took out a provision that would have required the tests solely for those who fall under reasonable suspicion, and he also took out a section that would have had Wisconsin pay for drug treatment for those who fail the tests. The veto means the state will not pay for for treatment in cases where individuals had health insurance covering such expenses.
6. As governor, he also signed a bill into law that modifies physicians' obligations to inform patients of alternate treatment options. Assembly Bill 139, now Wisconsin Act 111, was signed in 2013 and changed the language regarding the state's informed consent laws, clarifying physicians' obligations are limited to disclosing just the alternative treatment options he or she believes to be medically reasonable alternatives for the patient's diagnosis. The modification was a reaction to a 2012 Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling that upheld the decision to award $2 million in damages to an emergency department patient who was not informed of alternate tests that, while not appropriate for his original diagnosis, may have helped him prevent serious complications.
7. Shortly after Gov. Walker took office, his state passed the 2011 Wisconsin Act 10. The legislation calls for public employees, except for police and firefighters, to pay more for pension and healthcare benefits, and it only permits collective bargaining over base wage increases that is no greater than inflation, according to an Associated Press article published by The New York Times. Passage of that law prompted outrage, which led to a 2012 recall election, which Gov. Walker won. This year, Gov. Walker signed a right-to-work bill into law after saying during his re-election campaign that the issue would not be addressed again because it was a distraction, according to the report.
8. Last year, Gov. Walker signed a bill about physician apologies into law. Assembly Bill 120 makes physician apologies, condolences and expressions of sympathy toward patients regarding the healthcare provider's actions inadmissible in civil proceedings and administrative hearings. Supporters of the bill argued it encourages open communication between physicians and patients. Opponents, including trial attorneys, argued the change would make it harder for patients to bring successful malpractice lawsuits, according to an Anchorage Daily News report.
9. He supports vaccinations. Gov. Walker has said he supports vaccinations for children but also said that individual states should decide whether vaccinations should be mandatory, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "My wife and I send out a card to all newborns, in conjunction with Hallmark, to encourage people to get vaccinated," Gov. Walker said in February, according to the report
10. Gov. Walker opposes abortion in all cases. In 2013, he signed into law a bill requiring women to have an ultrasound before having an abortion, according to The Kansas City Star. Earlier this year, he also said he would sign a bill to ban abortions after 20 weeks. "As the Wisconsin Legislature moves forward in the coming session, further protections for mother and child are likely to come to my desk in the form of a bill to prohibit abortions after 20 weeks," he wrote in a letter. "I will sign that bill when it gets to my desk and support similar legislation on the federal level. I was raised to believe in the sanctity of life and I will always fight to protect it." Since then, the Wisconsin Legislature has approved the pro-life measure, according to LifeNews.