FACT CHECK: Scott Walker’s Real Record on Opioid Crisis

Walker Enthusiastically Endorsed ‘Awesome’ Bills to Slash Substance Abuse Treatment for Wisconsinites

As Scott Walker’s latest ad tries to gloss over his real record on Wisconsin’s devastating opioid epidemic, Wisconsin voters are reminded that he supported dangerous bills in Congress that would have gutted resources needed to combat the state’s substance abuse crisis.
Last year, Walker came out in favor of House Republicans’ Trumpcare bill, a plan the former Surgeon General of the United States said “would place coverage out of reach and weaken patient protections for millions struggling with addiction.” He also called the Graham-Cassidy health care plan, a bill that would have let insurers not cover substance abuse treatment, “awesome.”
Previously, Walker even turned down federal funding for health care—including substance abuse treatment—for lower income Wisconsin families.
Under Walker, Wisconsin’s opioid crisis has grown worse, with heroin overdose deaths tripling from 2010 to 2015. And of all the states, Wisconsin saw the largest increase in hospitalizations for overdoses.
“Scott Walker’s TV ads can’t hide his record of cozying up to Donald Trump and special interests to slash coverage for opioid treatment,” said DGA Communications Director Jared Leopold. “Scott Walker failed Wisconsin families when it mattered most. Wisconsin families need a governor who will strengthen every possible tool to combat the deadly opioid epidemic, even if it means standing up to President Trump and national Republicans.”