Eau Claire Residents Criticize Rep. Van Orden Vote on Budget Bill

EAU CLAIRE, Wis (WCFW) – Some Eau Claire area residents met with staff from Congressman Derrick Van Orden’s local office on Friday after his vote on the budget bill.

The group, led by Citizen Action for Wisconsin Northwestern Organizer Jeremy Gragert, met with members of Congressman Van Orden’s local staff to express their disappointment with his approval of a bill that narrowly passed.

“Representative Van Orden had promised that he would not be cutting Medicaid or food assistance,” said Gragert. “But he went back on his word yesterday when he voted yes. And he was the deciding vote, where 215 members of the House voted for the House Budget Bill, 214 against.”

During the press conference, a pair of local residents shared their concerns with looming cuts to Medicaid. Sara Ring shared her struggles with accessing care for her sister Carrie, who is developmentally and intellectually disabled and relies on Medicaid to get the assistance she needs. Ring expressed concerns that her aging parents won’t be able to continue caring for their daughter without the Medicaid support they currently receive.

Mary Canales, a retired University of Wisconsin Eau Claire nursing professor, focused on the effects Medicaid cuts would have on the overall healthcare industry in the region. Canales highlighted the closure of the HSHS Hospitals last year and the added financial stress that serving more uninsured patients would put on the remaining hospitals in the area. She also expressed concerns about access to nursing homes with cuts to Medicaid.

“With Medicaid, people might not realize, that is the primary funder of nursing home care,” she said. “And so we have seniors, estimates up to 60%, who rely on Medicaid to allow them really to be in a nursing home. So these cuts will dramatically affect seniors’ ability to get the care that they need in nursing homes as well as for nursing homes to survive.”

Gragert says the group anticipates the budget bill will be amended in the Senate and return to the House for another vote. They’re urging Congressman Van Orden to vote against cuts to Medicaid and food assistance programs if that happens.