GOP Cuts to Medicaid Threaten Access to Coverage for 54,000 Wisconsinites
WISCONSIN – Today, Congresswoman Gwen Moore, State Representative Deb Andraca and advocates joined Protect Our Care Wisconsin to discuss Protect Our Care’s new report detailing the damage GOP cuts to Medicaid are doing to Wisconsin families’ access to care and the state budget. Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have made the largest health care cuts in history, resulting in $7 billion cut from the state Medicaid budget over the next decade. Speakers discussed the catastrophic impacts of these cuts on Wisconsinites and the American health care system.
Medicaid is the largest health insurance provider in the country, covering over 68 million Americans. Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress’ big, ugly bill ripped coverage from more than 15 million people, putting Wisconsin hospitals and providers at risk of closing or slashing services, and raising premiums and costs for millions more. They must be held accountable for gutting more than $1 trillion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to fund tax breaks for billionaires and major corporations, and pulling the rug out from under children, seniors, people with disabilities, and working families who rely on Medicaid.
“(Protect Our Care’s) report finds that at least 54,000 Wisconsinites will lose their health care over the next decade because of these cuts. Meaning they will either see their own health suffer as they struggle to find health care, show up in our emergency rooms sicker and less well, or go into medical debt. And even if that number was just one, it would still be one too many,” said Congresswoman Moore. “No amount of spin can change the fact that Republicans have gutted health care to pay for tax cuts for billionaires and big corporations.”
“Since Trump and Republicans in Congress passed the largest cuts to Medicaid in history, Wisconsinites and people across the nation have either lost their Medicaid coverage or are living with the ongoing fear of not knowing if they will have health care coverage next month,” said Representative Andraca. “ These cuts will hurt people we know. In our state, Medicaid covers one out of three children AND working-age adults with disabilities.”
“When states face budget pressure or major Medicaid cuts, community services are often among the first at risk. They will be the first thing on the chopping block,” said Dr. Kiley McLean, PhD, MSW, MSEd, a professor researcher and disability advocate. “Cuts could mean reduced support hours, frozen enrollment in waiver programs, longer waitlists, or fewer available providers. And when community supports disappear, people do not suddenly stop needing care. Often, the result is crisis situations, hospitalization, or institutionalization — outcomes that are not only more harmful for individuals and families, but often more expensive in the long run.”
“Medicaid is not a political talking point inside emergency departments. It is the difference between patients getting cancer treatment or delaying care, between children receiving therapies they need to develop, and between seniors remaining safely at home or being forced into institutions” said Dr. Chris Ford, M.D., an emergency room physician. “When clinics close and people lose insurance, the emergency department becomes the safety net for an entire collapsing system,” Ford said. “You cannot cut over a trillion dollars from Medicaid and expect hospitals, emergency departments, and physicians to magically absorb the damage. Medicine does not work that way.”
You can view the full event here, and learn more about GOP attacks on Medicaid here.
