When ObamaCare saved a Republican's life!

Scott Walker is wrong, but you'd never know it by his continued insistence to claim Medicaid money is not guaranteed. He can't let go of a good talking point, no matter how meaningless or false.

Walker's excuse rang hollow again after hearing the testimony of a satisfied Republican voter, who is still alive today thanks to ObamaCare. It saved his life. Medicaid expansion offers that same hope for thousands:

President Barack Obama called on Gov. Scott Walker to accept the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid expansion he turned down in 2013.

“Your governor still refuses to expand Medicaid in this state. We could cover another 21,000 Wisconsinites with the stroke of his pen. He’s denying Wisconsinites their ticket to health insurance, and it’s political.”

MSNBC's Chris Hayes picked up on the story, and interviewed Walker supporter Brent Brown:

Brent Brown, who introduced Obama, said the ACA saved his life after he was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease in college, because it allowed him to get insurance in spite of his condition. Brown, who is a Republican, urged legislators to “do what is right for the people.”

It's a Walker lie his supporters like: Has the federal government "reneged" on Medicaid funding?

...there’s a major problem in Walker’s contention.The federal share -- known as the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage, or FMAP ... fluctuates annually and varies from state to state based on a formula dating to Medicaid’s inception in 1965… "designed so that the federal government pays a larger portion of Medicaid costs in states with lower per-capita incomes relative to the national average.”

In other words, the standard federal share of Medicaid costs is not promised or guaranteed to hold steady; it must only stay between the statutory minimum of 50 percent and maximum of 83 percent. But typical cost-sharing fluctuations, based mainly on a longstanding formula, explain the extra state burden -- not any reversal of course or pulling back on a commitment by Washington. We rate Walker’s claim False.

Of course, as more Wisconsinites enter the ranks of poverty, the federal government will kick in more money. Much like a number of southern states. Maybe that's Walker's plan?