Wisconsin Hospital Association blasts bill
MADISON, Wis. — The head of the Wisconsin Hospital Association is urging Gov. Scott Walker to parlay his influence with the White House and Republican leaders in Congress to make significant changes to the stalled health care overhaul bill.
Hospital Association President Eric Borgerding outlined more than a dozen points of concern in a letter marked as hand-delivered to Walker on Monday.
Borgerding has been speaking publicly this week about the group’s concerns and its estimate that 311,000 people in the state would lose insurance coverage by 2026 under the GOP plan.
House Speaker Paul Ryan planned to vote on the bill Thursday but delayed it as he and President Donald Trump continued to try and reach a deal to secure its passage.
Walker had no immediate comment on the concerns raised in the letter.
Wisconsin Democrats praise Obamacare’s impact
Democratic State Rep. Jimmy Anderson says the Affordable Care Act was his only “glimmer of hope” when facing insurmountable medical bills after being paralyzed in a 2010 car crash.
Anderson was about to hit his insurance’s lifetime limit when provisions from so-called “Obamacare” kicked in and changed that. Anderson says the Republican plan to repeal and replace the legislation will have “real consequences for real people.”
Anderson made the comments at a news conference held by Democratic state Sen. Jon Erpenbach of Middleton and Rep. Daniel Riemer of Milwaukee. The two say the Republican plan to provide Medicaid funding in block grants amounts to “rationing” health care for the most vulnerable populations, including the elderly, people with disabilities, low-income children and families and pregnant women.
Wis. lawmaker says people are ‘terrified’ about health care changes
A Democratic state lawmaker says people in her Madison legislative district are “terrified” about changes being proposed to the federal health care law.
State Rep. Melissa Sargent made the comment Thursday during a panel discussion with state health care leaders. She and other lawmakers were discussing the Republican proposal on the same day the House was expected to take a vote on the measure.
State policy makers and health care advocates are trying to determine what the impact of the proposal would be on the state. The Wisconsin Hospital Association estimates that 311,000 people in the state could lose insurance under the GOP plan by 2026.
Bobby Peterson with a nonprofit Madison law firm that helps low-income people get health care says, “We can’t overstate the impact this will have on the people we care about.”
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