Milwaukee County, WI — November 1, enrollment in the Affordable Care Act opens and Constituents in the 1st Congressional District are going to find their healthcare costs increasing making coverage unaffordable. It is estimated that there are 250,000 people in Milwaukee County alone who use the program. Without insurance, many will no longer go to the doctor for routine care and instead will wait until they become very ill and need to go to the hospital.
“People in our district are hurting — through no fault of their own — while Bryan Steil voted to increase healthcare costs for struggling families so he could lower the tax rate for billionaires,” said LuAnn Bird, founder of Birds on a Wire. “We want voters to show up, share their stories, and ask Republicans to meet with Democrats, which up until now they have refused to do, to make healthcare affordable for everyone!”
Democrats are standing firm to save the Affordable Care Act Stipend while Republicans refuse and are also withholding funds for the SNAP food assistance program that low income families depend on. Bird added, “Rep Steil is a rubber stamp for Donald Trump and he is using hunger to take away healthcare.”
JoAnn Godkin, age 92, is just one of many Wisconsinites losing critical benefits as a result of the Republicans’ Budget Bill. She recently received notice that her prescription discount plan — which saved her hundreds of dollars a year — was canceled. “For me, that is a lot of money,” Godkin said. “Now I have to hunt around for another prescription plan.”
Constituents in Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District are now calling for accountability — saying Steil should be fired for failing to do his job. Rep. Steil remains on vacation, collecting his taxpayer-funded paycheck while federal workers go unpaid and families lose healthcare and food assistance.
“If you or I refused to do our job, we’d be fired,” said Jean Weber, constituent. “It’s time voters do the same with Bryan Steil. Wisconsin families deserve a representative who works for them — not for Donald Trump or his billionaire donors.”
Rising costs and healthcare cutbacks are forcing families to make impossible choices between prescriptions, rent, and food. Constituents say it’s time for compassion over cruelty, leadership over loyalty, and people over billionaires.
