State officials are speaking out about the ramifications of sweeping federal healthcare cuts on Wisconsin and the 1.2 million residents who depend on BadgerCare, the state’s Medicaid program.
An estimated 276,000 Wisconsinites could lose their Medicaid coverage over the next decade due to changes included in the Trump administration's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" passed last summer. About 63,000 working adults whose jobs do not offer health insurance are at immediate risk.
Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez said it is enough people to fill Lambeau Field three times over.
"Picture telling every single one of them that they're on their own," Rodriguez stressed. "And it's not just coverage, it's the hospitals themselves. When the only hospital for 40 miles closes its doors, a heart attack becomes a death sentence. A complicated birth becomes a tragedy. And that's what's coming."
A new report by the advocacy group Protect Our Care found nearly 1,000 hospitals nationwide are now closing or at risk of closing. Rodriguez pointed out it includes at least three in rural Wisconsin. The Trump administration said the healthcare cuts are needed to curb government fraud, waste and abuse.
Rodriguez noted it is costing Wisconsin taxpayers about $72 million per year to comply with new federally mandated work and eligibility requirements for Medicaid. She reported the number one thing she hears from people is how unaffordable and inaccessible healthcare is for them. She argued the money could be spent on improving affordability.
"This is not a budget cut. That's cruelty with a price tag," Rodriguez asserted. "They didn't save money, they just decided who gets hurt. Republicans found the money for billionaires' tax breaks. They couldn't find it for a kid's inhaler."
The report by Protect Our Care showed the federal changes are expected to shrink state budgets by more than $660 billion over the next decade. Rodriguez, who is a candidate for governor, said Wisconsin is pushing back on every federal rule that does not make sense, adding officials cannot patch a hole this big from the state level alone.
"Healthcare's not a talking point," Rodriguez emphasized. "It's whether a mom can afford her kid's medicine. It's whether a grandmother can pay for that hospital bill and groceries in the same week. It's whether your hospital in town is still open when you need it. Republicans broke this, and the people who broke it owe every American they hurt an answer."
