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June 30, 2025, Your Health and Food Security on the Line
Your Health and Food Security on the Line
You already know that the cuts to Medicaid, Affordable Care Act insurance premium supplements, and SNAP food support for low-income families are “needed” to fund tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. You know that those cuts are only “needed” to allow the extension and enhancement of tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans
But do you know the specific impacts for Wisconsin households?
Today, as I write, the Senate is holding its “vote-a-rama” allowing amendments to be considered on the Senate floor.
Contact Senators Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin and your congressional representative with facts at your fingertips. Use Five Calls or resources on our Elections page (https://www.walworthdems.org/elections). Tell them specifically why you oppose the health care and SNAP cuts.
Here are some facts about the Medicaid and ACA cuts from an opinion essay focused on the impacts in Wisconsin of these cuts, published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel by Philip Rocco, an associate professor of political science at Marquette University and the author of "Obamacare Wars: Federalism, State Politics, and the Affordable Care Act." (https://www.jsonline.com/story/opinion/2025/06/15/trump-healthcare-health-insurance-big-beautiful-bill-wisconsin-badgercare/84188538007/)
“Within ten years, roughly 96,000 fewer people in our state will have health insurance coverage for two reasons.
“First, the end of premium tax credits and changes to the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace rules will cause at least 59,000 enrollees [in Wisconsin] to lose coverage. For those that remain in the marketplace, premiums will skyrocket. In Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District –– currently represented by U.S. Rep. Derek Van Orden –– premiums for a 60-year-old couple with a combined annual income of $82,000 will increase by over 300%.
“Second, due to changes in Medicaid policy –– namely the introduction of paperwork requirements that demand monthly recertification of employment status –– at least 37,000 Wisconsinites will also lose coverage. In fact, the real number could be far higher according to recent reports from the state.”
Supporters of the Medicaid work reporting requirement like to claim that it is intended only to eliminate “waste, fraud, and abuse” in the Medicaid program. You know that this is a fig leaf covering provisions purposely designed to result in dis-enrollment. The evidence? “massive dis-enrollments are necessary to generate the level of spending cuts needed to pay for tax cuts that primarily advantage the wealthy.”
Cuts to SNAP food support benefits are similarly damaging to Wisconsin families. The changes to policy and funding of food subsidies for poor families will cost Wisconsin $314 million annually. For 80 years, since federal programs to provide food for poor families began, the federal government has covered the entire cost while relying on states to help administer the program. (https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/foodshare/snap-reform-2025.pdf)
Under the House reconciliation bill, costs are shifted to states under the guise of addressing “waste, fraud, and abuse”. This shift accounts for $207 million of the $314 million costs of the SNAP changes for Wisconsin. Specifically, “the proposal [passed by the House] requires states to start making matching payments for SNAP benefits, with amounts varying based on the state’s error rates.
“WISCONSIN HAS ONE OF THE LOWEST PAYMENT ERROR RATES IN THE NATION [emphasis added], but DHS [the Wisconsin Department of Health Services] estimates this provision would require Wisconsin to pay 15% of benefit costs.” Moreover, this is not “waste, fraud, and abuse.” Rather, “They are errors like unexpected changes to a person’s income (for instance when a working parent has several part-time jobs with hourly pay) or accidental errors that occur when determining if someone qualifies for the program. For the first time ever, Congress is proposing an extreme, zero tolerance policy for payment errors that harms states like Wisconsin who consistently keep error rates low.” (NOTE: the Senate bill currently being debated on the floor includes some technical changes to the House version that you can read about here, https://thehill.com/business/budget/5374926-senate-republicans-snap-gop-spending-bill-changes/)
Under the proposed new work reporting requirements for SNAP beneficiaries, 88,200 Wisconsinites would have to start submitting new paperwork to prove they are working, including increasing this requirement for adults from 54 years old to 65 years old. This requirement also requires more paperwork for parents with school-age kids, including kids with disabilities. Each year, these changes would cost an extra $44 million for Wisconsin taxpayers.”
Additional reading on health care cuts