Gov. Tony Evers slammed Republicans Thursday for ripping up his plan to expand BadgerCare Plus while they were at a political fundraiser in Washington.

"I’m here today with a message for the people of Wisconsin: I’m going to fight like hell for Medicaid expansion and I need your help to get it done," the Democratic governor said at a news conference in Milwaukee's City Hall. "I need you to call your legislator and tell them you support Medicaid expansion."

"We’re not giving up," he said.

Under Evers' plan, the state would expand its BadgerCare Plus health program for low-income people to 82,000 more residents using funding available through the Affordable Care Act, which is also known as Obamacare.

Evers noted Republicans disclosed their plan to strip his health care proposal out of the state budget on a day when hundreds of doctors tried to lobby lawmakers on the issue. Many top Republicans were in Washington for a $1,000-per-person fundraiser.

"At the same time when those doctors were going over to the Capitol, where were the Republican leaders going? Out of town," Evers said. "Those doctors didn’t get a chance to talk to (Assembly Speaker) Robin Vos, did not get a chance to talk to the leaders of the Joint Finance Committee."

But Republicans said Evers should have known Republicans would oppose his plans given its effect on the private sector.

"The 82,000 folks that Gov. Evers is talking about all have access to the federal exchange under Obamacare. If Gov. Evers' plan goes forward, over half of those people would lose their private-sector health insurance with the State of Wisconsin picking up a portion of the premium," Vos said at a news conference at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport.

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Evers' plan would free up $324 million in state funding that could be used for other purposes. Republicans for months have said they oppose the idea and announced Wednesday they would formally remove the measure from the budget when the finance committee meets May 9.

They also plan to remove from the budget many of Evers' other priorities, including raising the minimum wage, legalizing medical marijuana and establishing a nonpartisan redistricting system.

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Obamacare gives states much greater sums if they make Medicaid programs like BadgerCare Plus more widely available. Thirty-six states have expanded their Medicaid programs, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Wisconsin Republicans contend Evers' plan to tap into Obamacare funding would drive up private insurance rates.

Assembly Democratic Leader Gordon Hintz of Oshkosh said that argument is false, pointing to a 2016 study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under Democratic President Barack Obama showing such expansions lower premiums for everyone — including in the private sector.

Despite the opposition from leaders, some Republicans — including Sen. Luther Olsen of Ripon, who sits on the budget committee — have said they support accepting the additional federal funds.

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Vos accused Evers of "throwing partisan barbs to try to drive people apart" with his criticism of the GOP fundraiser at the offices of lobbying firm BGR Group. He said Republicans announced their plan as soon as they got a memo from the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau about nonfiscal items contained in Evers' budget.

"This is another bit of the naivete — Gov. Evers is just getting his sea legs. He's got to understand the process," Vos said.

"The fact that we were out meeting with our congressional delegation in Washington — which is how I spent the entire day yesterday — is something I would assume people want us to do," he said.

Evers argued his plan is popular in Wisconsin, noting 70% said they favored expanding Medicaid in a Marquette University Law School poll.

"Robin Vos’ will is not the will of the people of Wisconsin," Evers said. "Red states and blue states and purple states all have decided years ago — years ago — that they would take this money and invest it in their citizens. It’s a shame that we’re standing here today saying that the Republican majority of the Legislature are working against the will of the people of the state. I believe there is Republican support for this."

But Vos said public opinion is based on incomplete information. He said Evers "and his allies" are not providing full details of his proposals.

"When we campaign, people say they want leaders who stand up for what they believe in and that you should do the right thing," Vos said. "And that's exactly what we are looking at. When you take the time to actually research it — and not just use simplistic slogans — you realize very quickly we do not want to hurt the private-sector health insurance market."

Lawmakers will spend the spring and summer reshaping Evers' $83 billion, two-year spending plan. When they're done, Evers will have a chance to rewrite it by vetoing portions of it.

Wisconsin governors have the power to veto individual words from budgets, giving them the ability to dramatically change what's included.

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Republicans plan next week to vote to remove these provisions from the budget:

Marijuana. Evers proposed legalizing medical marijuana and eliminating fees and criminal penalties for recreational marijuana.

Voucher schools. Evers recommended phasing out the state's private voucher school program for students with disabilities and capping enrollment on other voucher programs that allow low- and middle-income students to attend private schools at taxpayer expense.

Driver's licenses and tuition. Evers sought to make driver's licenses available to immigrants who are in Wisconsin illegally if they paid fees and passed driving tests. He also wanted to allow their children to pay in-state tuition instead of out-of-state tuition at Wisconsin colleges.

Minimum markup. Evers sought to end the state’s minimum markup law for gasoline, which requires retailers in many cases to mark up their price 9.18% above the average wholesale price. Some Republicans have rallied behind similar plans in the past.

Right-to-work law. Evers sought to eliminate the state's right-to-work law, a measure championed by Republicans that bans labor contracts that require all employees of a work unit to pay union fees, even if they don't belong to the union.

Minimum wage. Evers wanted to raise the minimum wage, now $7.25 an hour, to $10.50 an hour by 2023.

Dark stores. Evers tried to change how big-box retailers are assessed to end what critics call the "dark store loophole" that determines the property value of stores in part on the value of empty stores. Those lower assessments lessen the amount of property taxes they have to pay.

Automatic voter registration. Evers wanted to have eligible voters automatically put on the voter rolls when they got driver's licenses or did other business at Division of Motor Vehicle offices. People would have the chance to opt out of the plan.

Drug screening. Evers sought to scale back a range of work requirements and drug screening programs to qualify for certain public benefits.

Redistricting. Evers planned to establish a nonpartisan commission to draw legislative and congressional maps after the 2020 census. The move was aimed at preventing maps like the ones Republicans drew in 2011 that greatly helped their party win elections.

Juvenile offenders. Evers wanted to raise the age at which someone could be charged as an adult from 17 to 18.

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Lead pipes. Evers sought to borrow $40 million to replace lead pipes in Milwaukee and other communities.

Women's health. Evers planned to provide additional funding for women's health and efforts to reduce infant mortality, as well as give groups like Planned Parenthood the ability to qualify for public funding for family planning services.

Taxes. Evers wanted to scale back a tax break for manufacturers to help offset his plan to cut income taxes by 10 percent for the middle class.

Republicans are dropping the plan to make some manufacturers pay more in taxes but keeping in place the one to cut middle-class income taxes. Evers in February vetoed a middle-class tax cut because it didn't include the provision requiring manufacturers to pay more.

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Republicans are also keeping in place — at least for now — Evers' plan to raise the gas tax by nearly 10 cents a gallon over the next two years. Republicans have been split on the issue, with many of them opposed to a gas tax increase of that size.

Alison Dirr of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.