Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) said he would “consider” waiving some of the Affordable Care Act’s insurer mandates, including its protections for people with pre-existing conditions, as would be an option for states if a GOP Obamacare repeal bill that passed the House this week became law.
“That’s something we would certainly consider. It depends on the conditions, and again, what’s in the House bill could be very different than what’s in the Senate bill and what finally comes to the president,” Walker told reporters Friday, according to the Journal Sentinel. “So I’m going to wait till I see what’s in the final version.”
His spokesman later elaborated on Walker’s comments in a statement to the Journal Sentinel.
“Ensuring coverage for those with pre-existing conditions is a given for Governor Scott Walker,” Walker spokesman Jack Jablonski said in the statement. “Under his leadership, Wisconsin has been a model by having no insurance gap and providing coverage for all people in poverty. Wisconsin will continue to lead by ensuring those that seek coverage have access, while helping everyday citizens afford health care without putting taxpayers on the hook for Obamacare.”
The House bill would allow states to opt out of some of Obamacare’s market reforms, such as its Essential Health Benefits and the community ratings standards that prohibit insurers from hiking up premiums based on health status. The latter waiver would essentially allow insurers to price sick people out of being able to afford insurance, even as the ACA’s ban on insurers denying coverage for those with pre-existing conditions would technically remain on the books, under the GOP plan.
House conservatives picked up signals that waivers would be fairly easy for states to obtain and indeed, the legislative text laying out the conditions for the waivers is very vague.
The GOP centrists—whose support ultimately got the bill, the American Health Care Act, enough votes to pass the House narrowly Thursday—meanwhile argued that very few, if any, states would seek the waivers.
