MADISON, WI (WTAQ) – Governor Scott Walker has long said he would not take millions of federal dollars for Medicaid patients under Obamacare, because the state could be left with the entire cost someday.
Now, the Republican Walker says it’s only fair for Washington to help pay a bigger share of prescription drug subsidies for senior citizens — and that’s got Democrats accusing Walker of hypocrisy.
Walker’s proposed state budget would make 85,000 people on the state’s SeniorCare program use Medicare Part “D” to obtain their prescriptions — and SeniorCare would continue to provide drugs that Part “D” doesn’t cover.
SeniorCare advocates say their program is cheaper and easier to use than Medicare. Because of that, a similar change Walker proposed in 2011 was rejected by lawmakers from both parties.
Helen Marks Dicks of the state’s AARP says she’s been getting concerns from seniors. She said the Walker budget is not a good one for the elderly, and folks are starting to panic.
73-year-old Judith Joslin-Crary of Beloit told the AP, “They talk about going from steak to hamburger — but at this age, most of us are already at hamburger and we’re looking at going without.”
She said a funding cut for SeniorCare would make her and her husband cut back on their dosages of medicines, just to get by.
(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)
