‘Absurd’ stance

Will Flanders, research director at the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, said Wednesday he stands behind the research and methodology in the February report.

“The reality is, Medicaid expansion in Wisconsin would move a bunch of people off of private health care into government-run health care. Economics 101 would indicate that this will have some negative impact on the private sector and our study estimated a net cost of $600 million,” Flanders said.

The new study makes an “absurd assumption” that only new Medicaid enrollees who previously had private insurance will generate costs, he said.

According to Andrea Palm, secretary-designee of the state Department of Health Services, additional federal money obtained through Medicaid expansion would save the state $324 million over two years. That money could be invested in other programs to draw down more federal dollars, for a total $1.6 billion in new investment in hospitals, nursing homes, dental care, maternal care and other health services, Palm said.

Taking Medicaid expansion in 2014 would have saved the state $1.1 billion through 2019, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

In a minority