FOND DU LAC (NBC 26) — After the Senate approved President Donald Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" on Tuesday, Medicaid advocates in Wisconsin expressed worry and fear about what the cuts will mean for families in the state.
- The policy package approved by the senate includes a $930 billion cut to Medicaid.
- Lynn Meshke is a parent who has relied on Medicaid most of her adult son's life.
- The Arc Fond du Lac receives 78-80% of it's total funding from Medicaid.
Lynn Meshke was at the forefront of the February Hands off Medicaid protest at Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-WI) Oshkosh office.
Months later, Meshke watched Sen. Johnson vote to approve the domestic policy package known as President Donald Trump's Big Beautiful Bill.
“It feels like a betrayal,” she says.
Senate republicans say the proposed budget bill is meant to cut “waste, fraud and abuse.”
It includes a $930 billion-cut to Medicaid funding.
“We were anticipating this vote, so we’ve been talking about what this looks like for a while,” Meshke says.
The cuts hit close to home for Meshke, as her adult son has developmental disabilities.
“He has been on some form of Medicaid since he was a toddler,” she says. “It is the thing that is going to make sure his needs are covered.”
She’s worried what it will mean for the programs he relies on, and she’s not alone.
“I don't sleep at night because I'm wondering what’s going to happen to them,” Dawn Scannell, executive director of The Arc Fond du Lac, says.
The Arc is a non profit that offers housing, transportation and day services for adults and children with intellectual developmental disabilities.
Scannell says 78-80% of their revenue comes from the Wisconsin Managed Care Organization, which is fully funded by Medicaid.
“We’re scared,” Scannell says. “We don’t know if that’s going to mean all of our programs are going to be ended… are these people going to have to be moved to institutions?”
Scannell says if the Medicaid cuts stand, The Arc will likely have to cut staffing and services.
“It’s really scary,” Connie Gens, outreach advocacy coordinator at The Arc says. “Planning our budget, planning our next few years, it’s kind of on hold right now because we don’t know what we’re going to have for funds.”
Both Meshke and The Arc staff are worried about what the proposed cuts could mean for all Wisconsin families, regardless of whether or not they currently use Medicaid.
“You might not care now, but what I worry about is down the road, people will need these services and they won’t be there,” Meshke says. “When you remove a trillion dollars from that system, you destabilize it, and you destabilize it for everyone.”
Sen. Johnson did not respond to NBC26 request for comment on Medicaid cuts, but he posted to his social media:
“While the bill is a step forward, we have only just begun the difficult task of reducing spending, and there is still a long way to go. A rigorous effort will soon be announced to review every program and every line of the federal budget, looking for ways to reduce spending to a reasonable pre-pandemic level. I look forward to being fully involved in that effort to put America on a path to fiscal sustainability.”
The policy package still needs to be approved, as is, by the house before it is signed into law.
