Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, a cancer survivor, pushes back on ad suggesting pre-existing conditions protections are in jeopardy
MADISON - Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch is pushing back against Democrats arguing protections for pre-existing medical conditions are in jeopardy under Gov. Scott Walker.
Kleefisch said Thursday that even if a lawsuit Walker approved to repeal the Affordable Care Act is successful, Walker will call on lawmakers to pass legislation protecting pre-existing conditions like Kleefisch's own past cancer diagnosis.
"Folks with pre-existing conditions can rest assured if the governor says he's going to protect people like us, he will most certainly protect people like us," Kleefisch told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in an interview. "If it all shakes out that we see an end to Obamacare as we know it through this lawsuit, the governor will probably immediately call for that bill."
Kleefisch did not indicate what the legislation would ultimately provide, and an aide to Walker did not answer how the protections would be delivered. A spokesman for Walker's campaign said Friday Walker would call a special legislative session "in a heartbeat" to pass legislation if the lawsuit he approved was successful, but did not provide details about how the state would pay for the protections.
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Democrats say despite Walker's calls to preserve such protections, he has supported measures and approved a lawsuit that would do otherwise.
In a new ad, Kleefisch takes direct aim at Walker’s Democratic opponent, state schools Superintendent Tony Evers.
"I'm shocked Tony Evers and his allies would say Scott Walker would end protections for people with pre-existing conditions. People like me," Kleefisch said.
Kleefisch was 35, had two children under the age of 10 and was running in a five-way primary in 2010 when doctors discovered what she thought was exhaustion from campaigning was actually the side effect of a tumor growing inside her colon, sapping her of blood.
It wasn't until Kleefisch was unable to move her legs to get into her car at the end of the day, and had to physically pick up her knees to get situated, that she sought a doctor's advice.
"I just attributed it to so much standing and so many parades and so much hand-to-hand campaigning. ... It was something completely different," she said. "I remember the (gastrointestinal) doctor hanging over the side of the hospital bed telling me the words scores of people across Wisconsin hear every day: 'You have cancer.' "
Six months later, after surgeons removed the tumor and part of her colon, Kleefisch began her second round of chemotherapy — treatment she received during the massive protests at the state Capitol over Act 10 and during the subsequent recall election.
"I will assure you anyone who has a cancer diagnosis, whether they are in the middle of a recall election or not, is dealing with more drama than they could handle," Kleefisch said. "You shouldn't have to deal with a threatening disease (and worry) whether you are going to be sentenced to a lifetime of fundraisers just to live."
Kleefisch said she supports the lawsuit Walker approved seeking to repeal the ACA, calling the law an "abomination." She said her experience helped inform Walker's current position on pre-existing conditions and a $200 million plan Walker signed in February to help stabilize Obamacare markets and lower premiums.
Evers — who beat a rare esophageal cancer which few survive — said Walker "simply has no credibility on this issue."
"As a fellow cancer survivor, I have the upmost respect for Lt. Gov. Kleefisch's strength and bravery. But that does not change the fact that the Walker administration has spent the past eight years trying to undermine the Affordable Care Act and gut protections for the estimated 2.4 million Wisconsinites with a pre-existing condition," Evers said in a statement. "As governor, I will do everything in my power to bring health costs down, expand coverage, and extend protections for Wisconsinites with a pre-existing condition."
Just months before winning his first term overseeing the Department of Public Instruction in 2009, Evers underwent surgery to rid his body of cancer in his esophagus — an operation that required the removal of part of his stomach as well as his esophagus.
Evers still cannot eat full-size meals and has to sleep at a 45-degree angle, according to a March 2017 profile in the Wisconsin State Journal.
"Election year promises won’t cover up Walker's career of working to sabotage Wisconsinites' health care and take us back to the days when insurance companies could deny you coverage if you got sick," Evers said Thursday.
Kleefisch's remarks came days after a Democratic group in support of Evers released an ad featuring a Madison woman battling cancer suggesting Walker would take away such protections and said: "Scott Walker just doesn't seem to care about families like mine."
"If Scott Walker takes away the protections for pre-existing conditions, I wouldn't be able to afford the treatments saving my life," a woman identified as Mary says in the ad. "It's a matter of life and death for me."
The ad was released by A Stronger Wisconsin, a group affiliated with the Democratic Governors Association, as part of a seven-figure ad buy.
"If you look at Walker's record on this, he's spent years trying to eliminate protections for patients like Mary who have a pre-existing condition," said Tom Russell, the group's spokesman.
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Russell cited Walker's support for the Affordable Care Act repeal; his approval of Attorney General Brad Schimel's participation in a lawsuit to repeal the law; his support for two unsuccessful bills to repeal the ACA that would allow state to opt out of requirements for insurers on how they cover people with pre-existing conditions; and his consideration of waivers for insurance companies to charge patients with pre-existing conditions more.
Alex Japko, spokesman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, said earlier this week "Walker is still fighting to undermine health care protections in Wisconsin" by approving the lawsuit to repeal.
Democrats also question a promise to pass legislation if the ACA is repealed to protect pre-existing coverage because a bill that would have done so failed to pass the state Senate earlier this year. And say Walker should seek to ensure there's no gap in time between the ACA being struck down and a new state law providing protections.
But Kleefisch said she is "astounded that someone would be so blatant in their telling of mistruths," given Walker's call for legislation.
When asked whether Walker would call a special session to take up similar legislation should the ACA be repealed, a spokeswoman for Walker said the governor "has previously called for the Legislature to pass a bill to protect those with pre-existing conditions — he remains committed to moving this goal going forward."
To opt out of the Affordable Care Act's requirements on pre-existing conditions, states would have to set up high-risk insurance pools to help those people afford coverage.
Walker has spoken highly of Wisconsin's Health Insurance Risk Sharing Pool, or HIRSP, which the state ran until insurance marketplaces opened under Obamacare in 2014.