GOP Senate candidates Kevin Nicholson, Leah Vukmir oppose Obamacare subsidy bill
Patrick Marley
MADISON - Republicans challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin said a bipartisan bill aimed at restoring insurance subsidies under Obamacare doesn't do enough.
Businessman Kevin Nicholson and state Sen. Leah Vukmir (R-Brookfield) made plain their opposition to a proposal from U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) to keep the subsidies in place after President Donald Trump said he was ending them.
"I do not believe this deal goes far enough," Vukmir said in a statement. "To earn my support, more conservative reforms need to be included to give relief to the many Americans suffering under Obamacare.”
RELATED:Democrats charge GOP mega donor Richard Uihlein trying to 'buy' Senate seat for Kevin Nicholson
POLITIFACT:In Wisconsin, thousands on probation commit new crimes but don't get probation revoked?
Nicholson said at a Racine County Republican Party event Wednesday that health care proposals should improve competition, price transparency and the overall system the country has now. He said he doubted the subsidy bill by Alexander and Nicholson would do that.
“If it opens up the door to get there sooner, then I would entertain it. I don't think these reforms do,” Nicholson said, according to audio from the event.
His spokesman, Michael Antonopoulos, added in a statement: "Rather than tinkering around the edges, Kevin believes we need to enact conservative reforms that improve price transparency, increase competition and lower premiums while safeguarding the quality of care for all Americans."
Baldwin is a co-sponsor of the legislation by Alexander and Murray.
“The bipartisan agreement moves us in the right direction by beginning to help stabilize the market and improve our health system. But this is only a first step toward doing what needs to be done to lower costs and make health care more affordable in Wisconsin,” Baldwin said in a statement.
Trump initially made the subsidy payments begun by President Barack Obama to insurance companies that offered plans under the Affordable Care Act, also known Obamacare.
Trump announced last week he was ending those payments, which reimburse insurers for lowering the cost of their plans for low-income people. Alexander and Murray responded with their legislation continuing the payments for two years.
The bill’s fate is uncertain and faces opposition from U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). He wants to keep the focus on repealing Obamacare — an idea that has been unable to clear the Senate.
If Obamacare remains in place but the insurer subsides are taken away, the cost of health plans is expected to rise and insurers are expected to leave markets.
State Democratic Party spokesman Brad Bainum said Vukmir and Nicholson were effectively endorsing a 36% average hike in premiums for those who get insurance through Affordable Care Act marketplaces.
“By opposing this bipartisan solution to help make health care more affordable, Kevin Nicholson and Leah Vukmir are once again supporting higher costs for Wisconsinites," Bainum said in a statement.