The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com.
Over one million Wisconsinites are covered by Medicaid, 57% outside of Milwaukee, disproportionately in rural GOP-led congressional districts (CD): 1st CD – 168,700; 3rd CD – 152,900; 5th CD – 95,200; 6th CD – 129,400; 7th CD – 166,900; and 8th CD – 139,700 (Kaiser Family Foundation – KFF). Most adults on Medicaid are working. And, the elderly and disabled account for most Medicaid expenditures (KFF). Moreover, Medicaid is a lifeline for rural Wisconsin; keeping rural hospitals open, anchoring small towns economically and mitigating higher rates of serious illness.
However, the GOP-led House, supported by all Wisconsin GOP representatives, voted to instruct the House Energy and Commerce Committee to find $880 billion in Medicaid cuts to pay for extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy. But Wisconsin 3rd CD GOP Representative Derrick Van Orden obfuscated his vote: “To be explicitly clear: today’s budget resolution did not include any cuts to specific programs. Anyone saying otherwise is lying and engaging in fearmongering of our farmers, veterans, seniors and most vulnerable populations.”
Hyperbole and mudslinging don’t change reality. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said that finding $880 billion in cuts to pay for Trump’s tax cuts will be possible only by slashing Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and/or Medicare. Van Orden also disingenuously said: “Millions of Americans depend on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and I will have no part in cutting these programs for the folks that are legally entitled to them” (no evidence that illegal enrollment is a problem). Van Orden can keep making false claims, much like the cow jumping over the moon, but other conservatives and moderates disagree.
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Wisconsin Catholic bishops came out forcefully against the proposed GOP Medicaid and other cuts: “Weakening SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) or Medicaid through structural changes to the programs will act as cuts to these critical supports. Reduced funding, increased burdens for states, eligibility limitations, and work requirements will all result in loss of benefits and reduced access to life-affirming health care and proper nutrition for those in need. Any changes to these programs should prioritize improvements and access to quality care and nutrition over cost savings.” The bishops are not alone.
The Wisconsin Medical Society is also speaking out in opposing $880 billion in Medicaid cuts. The doctors said: “The proposed cuts disproportionately harm at-risk and rural communities. Medicaid is critical to providing health coverage to children and families in rural areas where people are more likely to be uninsured and face challenges in accessing much needed health care. Medicaid covers more children and adults in rural communities than in urban areas. … Rural health care is already in crisis across the country and these cuts will exacerbate the rural hospital and nursing home closures… .”
Wisconsin congressional Republicans, including Senator Ron Johnson, must listen to the bishops and doctors: no Medicaid cuts. It’s long past time to stop the warp speed race to cruelty and misery. Stand up for rural Wisconsin or the sick will suffer and others will die needlessly.
– Kaplan wrote a guest column from Washington, D.C., for the Wisconsin State Journal from 1995 – 2009.
