Outgoing Republican Olsen says Wisconsin should consider Medicaid expansion

The Republican senator who co-vice chairs the Joint Finance Committee said in a WisconsinEye interview this week that the state should consider expanding Medicaid in light of potential budget challenges posed by COVID-19.

“When you’ve got that kind of money on the table and a lot of other Republican states have taken it, I think you have to look at that,” retiring Sen. Luther Olsen, R-Ripon, said Monday. “When you change your mind in politics, you have to have a reason to do this. And this is a reason.”

Olsen said he would be one of a few in his caucus to support expansion, but noted that the caucus hasn’t talked about it. He noted he doesn’t support raising income taxes or scaling back the state’s manufacturing and agricultural tax credits in a potential budget repair bill.

“The question then is if you don’t do any of those, then you’ve got to cut programs for people and how much do you cut corrections, how much do you cut (Medical Assistance) and all of those kinds of things,” he said.

Olsen previously called for consideration of Medicaid expansion. Republican leadership has opposed taking the expansion, which Gov. Tony Evers called for earlier this month in response to COVID-19 and its disproportionate impact on communities of color.

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