MADISON, Wis. — This morning, new reporting from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel called out Derrick Van Orden for cowering from his record of cutting Medicaid. In response to constituents protesting healthcare cuts outside a private event Van Orden held in Sparta, Van Orden lied to reporters, claiming there would be no cuts to Medicaid or Medicare. To add insult to injury, he belittled his constituents by saying that he wished they “knew what they were talking about.” Despite his lies, the OBBB — which Van Orden championed — slashes $1 trillion in Medicaid funding, and these cuts take effect at a time when 1 in 5 healthcare.gov enrollees have dropped their care due to the GOP’s refusal to continue ACA tax credits.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Responding to protest, Van Orden denies spending bill cut Medicaid
By: Laura Schulte | 5/13/26

U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden is denying that he voted for cuts to health care when he backed President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” last year, legislation that will affect access to Medicare and Medicaid for thousands of Wisconsinites.

In an interview with WXOW of La Crosse, Van Orden responded to protesters outside his May 7 town hall in Sparta who said they were disappointed by his vote for the bill last year, which includes cuts to Medicaid and Medicare.

In the interview, Van Orden said that while protesters had the right to be there, he just wished “they knew what they were talking about.”

“There has been no cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. There’s not going to be cuts to Medicare and Medicaid,” Van Orden said. “What’s going to end, though, is the rampant waste, fraud and abuse present.”

All of Wisconsin’s Republican delegation in Congress supported Trump’s bill. The bill included tax cuts, increased spending on immigration enforcement and the military, and a nearly $1 trillion cut to Medicaid, according to USA TODAY. The cuts are expected to go into effect by 2027.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates more than $900 billion in Medicaid spending cuts under the bill over a decade. Republicans argue measures such as work requirements for able-bodied recipients are in place to ensure Medicaid isn’t cut for those who need it. The CBO estimates more than $500 billion in Medicare yearly automatic cuts over a decade.

[…]

Medicaid, the primary health program for low-income people, is jointly financed by states and the federal government and is known as BadgerCare in Wisconsin.

Last year, shortly after the bill was signed into law on July 4, Wisconsin lawmakers rushed to sign a state budget into effect to avoid the freeze on the provider tax. The budget included a provision that expanded the state’s tax on hospitals from 1.8% to 6%.

Van Orden said after the signing of the state budget that he was responsible for the state’s Medicaid provision, but Gov. Tony Evers’ office denied that the congressman had anything to do with what was signed into law.

According to data from the Joint Economic Committee Minority, about 276,000 Wisconsinites will be impacted by the changes the One Big Beautiful Bill brought about. In the U.S., the committee estimates that about 17 million people will be impacted.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services estimated in 2025 that an estimated 63,000 people would be at risk of losing coverage.

After passage of the bill last year, Van Orden said Americans would see “integrity and stability restored in critical programs like SNAP and Medicaid.”

[…]

Wisconsin Democrats criticized Van Orden for saying constituents don’t know what they’re talking about.

“Derrick Van Orden is a liar and treats his constituents like they are fools because he is too afraid to stand by his vote that takes away health care from children, veterans, and the elderly,” said Rachel La Due, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. “He should man-up and take responsibility for his actions instead of lying like a coward.”

The Wisconsin GOP did not respond to a request for comment on Van Orden’s remarks.