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Governor’s Proposed Budget Expands Access to Health Care and Provides Funding for Programs to Reduce Racial Disparities

March 16, 2023 All people in Wisconsin, whether they live in Menomonie or Milwaukee, deserve access to quality, affordable health care and to live in communities that support their health and wellness. Governor Evers’ proposed budget takes steps to expand access to care, prioritizes maternal… Read More »Governor’s Proposed Budget Expands Access to Health Care and Provides Funding for Programs to Reduce Racial Disparities

Weakening Assistance for Families Would Weaken the Workforce

February 11, 2022 — The COVID pandemic and the recession it caused illustrated the tremendous importance of public benefit programs like BadgerCare, FoodShare, and Unemployment Insurance. Yet a number of Republican legislators are trying to hurriedly pass a package of bills that would weaken the sources of public assistance that have been so critical over the past two years in reducing the pandemic’s harm to workers, families and the economy.

Opportunity Wasted: Legislature Removes Nearly All Items Promoting Racial Equity from the State Budget

July 2021 — On many different indicators, Wisconsin is at or very near the top in terms of the severity of racial inequities, and those gaps are holding back our state. Governor Evers’ budget contained a broad range of measures aimed at reducing the disparities in Wisconsin. However, the Republican-controlled legislature scrapped his budget and started fresh, and their budget removed almost all of the Governor’s initiatives to create a more level playing field for people of color in our state. 

Legislature’s Health Budget – Missed Opportunities for a Healthier, more Equitable Wisconsin

June 29, 2021 — The legislature’s Joint Finance Committee put forward a budget that in many ways continues the status quo while providing substantial increases for personal care services and boosting funding for certain Medicaid providers, such as dentists and emergency physicians. It also increases funding for hospitals, nursing homes, and behavioral health. However, the budget misses many opportunities to expand access to health care by rejecting BadgerCare expansion and does very little to address health disparities or maternal and child health. It further fails to pass health insurance consumer protections, allow reimbursement for community health workers and doula services, invest in public health, and expand treatment for children with high blood-lead levels.

Wisconsin Legislature Shows Budget Priorities by Voting Against Expanding Health Care, and For a Tax Cut for the Wealthy

May 13, 2021 — Last week the legislature’s budget committee removed a provision from the state budget that would have provided health insurance to almost 100,000 Wisconsin residents with low incomes, and would save the state more than a billion dollars in tax revenue over the next two years. On the same day, the committee preserved a tax cut that funnels millions of dollars into the pockets of a small group of the extremely wealthy who have rigged the system for their own benefit. This combination of actions demonstrates the legislature’s priorities so far in the budget process: making it more difficult for people with low incomes to meet their basic needs, while refusing to accept proposed changes that would require big corporations and the top 1% to pay their fair share. 

Governor’s Proposed Budget for Health Care

March 18, 2021 — Governor Evers has proposed an ambitious budget for health care that increases access to care and coverage by expanding BadgerCare, increases funding for hospitals and other providers, invests in maternal and infant health and health equity, and provides more support for public health. It also increases access to dental services, makes health insurance more affordable, invests in caregiving and the caregiver workforce, and recommends rate increases for behavioral providers as well as a regional approach to crisis support.

Comparison of Public Benefit Changes Proposed by the Governor and Adopted in the Legislature’s Coronavirus Response Bill

April 16, 2020 — To help ease the disastrous health and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Evers proposed legislation to make wide-ranging changes in the state’s public assistance programs, including budget increases and policy measures. This issue brief compares the Governor’s proposals relating to public assistance programs with the far narrower bill approved by the legislature.

16211621Weakening Assistance for Families Would Weaken the Workforce 16481648Opportunity Wasted: Legislature Removes Nearly All Items Promoting Racial Equity from the State Budget