“Talkin’ About a Revolution”

song by Tracy Chapman; check out our full curated playlist here – handpicked jams to keep the joy flowing!

No matter where we live or what we look like, we all need access to quality, affordable health care. In a country that doesn’t guarantee health care to all, Medicaid is a lifeline. Medicaid, including BadgerCare, is a vital source of health insurance for more than one million Wisconsin kids, parents, adults with low incomes, people with disabilities, older adults who need support to stay independent in their communities, and people receiving mental health and addiction treatment in Wisconsin.

Congress Passes Deepest Cut to Medicaid in History

In May the deeply harmful federal megabill was introduced in Congress, then passed and signed by Trump this summer. This bill cuts nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid over the next decade. 12 million people are projected to lose their health insurance as a result. How will this bill hurt Wisconsinites? The megabill:

• disguises its cuts in red tape, and as a result millions will lose their coverage because they can’t keep up with the bureaucracy.
• may take away health insurance from about 63,000 Wisconsinites due to so-called ‘work reporting requirements’. An overwhelming majority of individuals on Medicaid are already working or cannot work due to a health condition. Work reporting requirements have been shown in other states to result in loss of coverage rather than an increase in workforce participation.*
• changes the rules for lawfully present immigrants and refugees who have been eligible for decades causing more people to lose Medicaid health care coverage.
• changes the rules for people who get their insurance on healthcare.gov; making fewer people qualify for financial assistance and making it harder to enroll.

Regardless of how these changes are described, they are all cuts to people’s health care. Congress voted to cut Medicaid, but everyone will end up feeling the pain. Medical debt will increase, people will catch health problems later when they’re likely more serious, and local health providers will lose critical revenue, causing more of them to reduce services or close their doors. More people without insurance means higher health care costs for everyone else. These cuts are projected to hit small towns and rural communities hardest, where Medicaid helps keep hospitals afloat and one in three rural kids count on it for their health coverage.

Resisting at Every Step

Congress may have slashed health care to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy few, but they didn’t do it without collective resistance.
Starting in January, we co-founded the Wisconsin Medicaid Coalition—approximately 150 counties, tribes, health care providers, advocates, and those representing Medicaid patients— to fight back.

We organized community forums, sign-on letters, and legislative briefings. We spoke with reporters, told the truth about what was at stake, and shared stories about the vital role Medicaid plays in our big cities, small towns, and everywhere in between.

At an event in Green Bay, one foster mom shared: “I am here to represent my foster son. He is the sunshine of my day. I would be devastated if cuts were made to Medicaid services that he utilizes currently, like mental health services, equine therapy, speech and occupational therapy. He deserves a fighting chance.”

And we were not alone. All across the country, people confronted their representatives, asking the tough questions, sharing compelling and tragic stories, and challenging them to stand up for children, families, and providers who rely on Medicaid. Those in favor of Medicaid cuts felt the pressure; in fact, they stopped holding town halls with voters and instead retreated to false stereotypes and empty rhetoric.

Unfortunately, we didn’t win. We did however make them abandon some of their worst and most dangerous ideas that would have fundamentally destabilized Medicaid for generations. We also made them delay some of their cuts for years. They know these are unpopular ideas, which is why they deferred some of them until after the next election.

We’re not Done by a Long Shot

We’ve still got a lot of work to do. We’re making sure state and federal lawmakers know what to expect so they can protect health care for as many people as possible. We’re championing the just and equitable implementation of these changes so people can keep their Medicaid coverage amidst all the red tape and we can minimize the loss of federal Medicaid funds here in Wisconsin.

In 2026, we’re documenting the harm to Wisconsin residents, so that voters remember why these devastating cuts are happening.