The Energy and Commerce Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives just concluded its markup of their portion of the federal budget reconciliation bill. The bill as it currently stands would cut $715 billion from the Medicaid program over the next 10 years and result in 13.7 million people losing their health insurance coverage through cuts to Medicaid and weakening the ACA. This bill would be the largest ever cut to Medicaid.
While the specific impacts of the bill’s provisions on Wisconsin are still being determined, the picture is clear: impacts will be across-the-board and Wisconsinites will lose access to health insurance – and health care – if this bill is passed.
Several provisions of the bill would place significant burdens on Medicaid recipients and shift administrative costs to states, including prove-you’re-working requirements which would require burdensome paperwork for participants and force the State of Wisconsin to spend millions to administer. Wisconsin Medicaid Coalition participants have shared the following comments on the proposal:
● “The ripple effects of this legislation would be felt across the nation: clinics and rural hospitals could close; people who currently get their healthcare through their employer and lose their job would be locked out of getting Medicaid and lose their safety net; and healthcare would cost more for everyone,” shares Molly Collins, the American Lung Association’s Advocacy Director for Wisconsin and South Dakota.
● “I know many people in NAMI who are recovering from mental illness and substance use who want to work, but they need to start part-time, which means they don’t have employer sponsored insurance,” says Sita Diehl, Public Policy & Advocacy Director of NAMI Wisconsin. “When they gain stamina and confidence they may be able to work full time, but without Medicaid they wouldn’t be able to get services to support their recovery – and their ability to work. Medicaid can be a springboard to employment.”
● “As Executive Director of Employment Resources, Inc. (ERI), I have grave concerns about the proposed $715 billion in cuts to federal Medicaid funding currently under consideration in Congress,” stated Kweku-TeAngelo Cargile Jr. “These cuts would have devastating consequences for individuals with disabilities who rely on Medicaid for essential healthcare and long-term support services that enable independent living and employment opportunities.”
● “Cuts to Medicaid will drastically decrease our organization’s ability to provide life-saving preventative care and support to our Autistic community members. The strain that will be caused by these cuts will create additional, more serious problems for our community members. These cuts will severely limit our organization’s ability to provide the services upon which so many of our Autistic families depend,” shares Katie Hess, Executive Director, Autism Society of Greater Wisconsin.
Wisconsin’s Medicaid program supports 1.2 million (18% of) Wisconsinites who rely on Medicaid for health, mental health, and in-home or facility based long term care, including Wisconsin Medicaid covers low-income pregnant women, children, people with disabilities, people with mental illness, low-income workers, and low-income older adults rely on Medicaid for health and long-term care. The largest group of people covered by Medicaid are kids, including kids with special health care needs and disabilities.
The Wisconsin Medicaid Coalition has approximately 300 participants from more than 150 entities, including counties, tribes, health care providers, advocates, and those representing impacted populations, concerned about the impact of major changes to Medicaid being considered at the federal level.
