LA CROSSE, Wis. — Just days before the anniversary of Medicaid being signed into law, Rep. Derrick Van Orden is touting an increase in the program’s funding for Wisconsin, claiming he spent “over a year” working with the Trump administration to secure it. 

What he’s not telling WI-03 families: This is a drop in the bucket compared to the largest Medicaid cut in U.S. history that he voted for, and he has remained silent on a new rule that will force seriously ill Wisconsinites to work or lose their Medicaid coverage.

“Derrick Van Orden wants credit for funding Medicaid, but ignores the hundreds of billions that have been cut and the tens of thousands of Wisconsinites who will lose coverage because of his votes,” said Opportunity Wisconsin Program Director Meghan Roh. “Wisconsin families who are facing skyrocketing costs for healthcare coverage see through it. They know this is too little, too late — and it’s no substitute for actually fighting to protect Medicaid for the people he represents.”

The Republican Tax Law that Van Orden voted for last year made the largest cut to Medicaid in U.S. history, slashing more than $900 billion from the program nationwide and putting rural hospitals at risk of closure. In Wisconsin alone, the law’s Medicaid cuts are projected to cost the state $7 billion over the next decade, and an estimated 76,000 Wisconsinites are expected to lose health coverage overall as a result.

Van Orden has also been silent on a new Trump administration rule which will force patients with cancer, HIV, and other serious illnesses to show up to work or lose their Medicaid benefits. The public comment period on that rule closes this Friday, July 31, and coverage losses are set to begin January 1, 2027 if the rule is not changed. Van Orden has had an opportunity to speak out against it and has remained silent.

Making Van Orden’s claims even more disingenuous, the additional funding he is touting is actually due to changes made by the Wisconsin State Legislature and Governor Evers last year. At the time, Van Orden was also exposed for claiming credit and ignoring his votes to cut Medicaid.