A plan that would provide basic universal health care coverage for Wisconsin residents was dropped from the state budget during deliberations Friday.

The Healthy Wisconsin Plan was proposed in the Democratic-controlled Senate's version of the budget, yet was continually shot down by Assembly Republicans, who said the $15 billion plan would force a drastic tax increase.

Sen. Bob Jauch, D-Poplar, said Democrats agreed to drop Healthy Wisconsin only after Republicans agreed to make health care a priority in the state budget.

"We offer a proposal that is not everything we want, [and] we realize the need to build consensus and reduce conflict," Jauch said in a statement Friday. "In an effort to do our job … and address critical needs in health care, compromise is necessary."

Josh Wescott, spokesperson for Sen. Judy Robson, D-Beloit, said the insurance plan was removed from the budget because Republicans were continually citing it as the main reason for the budget stalemate.

"This is an obstacle or a roadblock, [and] was pinned down as some reason why the other guys didn't want to work on the budget," Wescott said. "[Now] there will be no more excuses [or] different reasons as to why there isn't a budget."

Wescott added that despite dropping the plan, Democrats are striving to improve both children's health care services and coverage for the poor in the 2007-09 budget.

"We asked for BadgerCare Plus and increasing the cigarette tax," Wescott said. "We want to do things that are really basic values, like providing greater access to health care for kids and lower-income folks."

But according to Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, Republicans in both houses say the new proposal, which takes the place of Healthy Wisconsin, is pricy and dishonest.

"Today, [Robson] said Senate Democrats would drop their $15 billion plan to blow up the health care system and put government bureaucrats in charge of health care in Wisconsin, but only if Republicans agreed to more than $1 billion in new taxes and spending," Fitzgerald said in a statement.

Fitzgerald also said the Democrats' new proposal would make Wisconsin the highest-taxed state in America.

According to Jauch, however, the new proposal will insure many living in Wisconsin who currently cannot afford health care. The plan, Jauch added, cuts $24 million in Medicaid spending — a compromise decision for Democrats — while still providing funds to reimburse health care providers.

"Adoption of this proposal will expand health care coverage to all 86,000 uninsured children in Wisconsin, will assure that 50,000 uninsured farmers will have access to health care protection, and will improve coverage for 66,000 of the lowest income adults without insurance," Jauch said in a statement.

Despite continued conflict between the parties, the 2007-09 budget, which was supposed to be completed by July 1, needs to be passed soon, Wescott said.

"This was a good faith effort to get these budget negations going," he added.