Menomonie, Wis. — On Saturday morning, 55 members of GROWW (GrassRoots Organizing Western Wisconsin) gathered inside a public meeting room off the entryway of the Menomonie Public Library. As a US government shutdown entered its third day, GROWW joined the growing number of Wisconsinites sending a message to Rep. Derrick Van Orden and members of Congress: break partisan gridlock and take action to restore health care access for working families.
Legislation, passed earlier this summer by President Trump and Congressional Republicans, extends dramatic 2017 tax cuts for corporations and the wealthiest Americans while slashing over $1 trillion funds that help make health coverage affordable for millions of Americans – including Medicaid (Badgercare), CHIP, and the Affordable Care Act.
Starting in 2026, unless Congress takes action now, health insurance premiums will double for 22 million people and coverage will be terminated for 15 million people.
“I am one of those people. My seven year old daughter Eleanor is one of those people. My six year old son Henry is one of those people.” said GROWW member Angie Wolf who works full time and has two jobs to care for herself and her kids.
“My story is not unique. There are over 2,000 of us in Dunn County alone who are set to lose Medicaid.” The mother of two described laying away at night in uncertainty and fear, “If I lose health care, will I need to find a third job to purchase expensive health insurance through the ACA? How will that affect my work schedule and childcare? How will I care for my family?”
Phil Verges, a Pierce County farmer shared his mounting concerns. After his wife became eligible for Medicare this fall, he enrolled in a Marketplace exchange plan in September with minimal premiums thanks to subsidies—a bridge to his own Medicare eligibility next fall.
“Now I hear that the subsidies are being dramatically decreased. I have no idea what I’ll be paying in January, it could be hundreds of dollars more per month. Money farmers like me don’t have at this time.” he explained. “I’ve been harvesting soybeans the past few days. As I sit in the combine and do the math. I’m currently losing about $85 per acre. That leaves a lot of worry and stress. Hard to pay the bills with negative income. And now I have to worry if I can afford health insurance.”
“This is about ordinary people versus corporate power,” says GROWW Organizing Director Bill Hogseth. “It is about whether health care will be treated as a basic right or as a commodity for the wealthy.”
In a letter to Rep. Van Orden, Hogseth wrote “GROWW believes that no member of Congress should vote for a budget that forces families in western Wisconsin to pay more for health care, when the cost of rent, gas, and groceries are already crushing us.”
The impacts extend beyond those with ACA coverage. Cuts to Medicaid are destabilizing the entire health care system, threatening rural hospitals and clinics across western Wisconsin with service cuts or closure.
Brady Didion, a physician at a rural hospital outside of Eau Claire is worried about his patients. “Our patients get the best healthcare we can provide everyday, but with cutting the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid, I’m really concerned, in fact I know there are going to be problems. More Hospitals will close. People won’t come in and see me for small infections until they get worse. People will do things like stretching their insulin. There will be greater problems, people will get sicker, because they can’t afford the care they need.”
Saturday’s press conference joined personal testimonies from GROWW members and district residents about how the crisis impacts their families, followed by a direct call for Rep. Van Orden to work with Democrats and Republicans to reach a bipartisan budget agreement that restores health care funding and ends the shutdown.
“No matter where we’re from or who voted for, we want to be able to see a doctor when we are sick. None of us should have to choose between putting food on the table and affording the care or medication we need to live.” said Jenelle Ludwig-Krause, Pierce County resident and GROWW Executive Director.
“But members of congress, furthering the agenda of pharmaceutical and health insurance special interests, are ushering in worse healthcare that costs more to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. They are even willing to force a government shutdown to ram their harmful agenda down our throats. Derrick Van Orden and all members of congress get to choose whose side they are on. Billionaires or our side, regular people living and working right here in the 3rd cong district.”
