The Legislature's Joint Finance Committee approved a Department of Health Services budget proposal Thursday that includes $225 million in Medicaid cuts by an 11-4 vote along party lines.
Republicans, along with DHS officials, view the cuts as a way to deal with rising costs from expansion in the Medicaid programs.
Programs like Badger Care Plus and Family Care have grown nearly 10 times the rate of Wisconsin's population during the past two decades due to increases of both need and expanded program offerings, according to Republicans on the committee.
"These proposals preserve that health care safety net and build on the private system of coverage to ensure the Medicaid program is sustainable now and into the future," Health Services Secretary Dennis Smith said in his testimony to the JFC Thursday.
Approximately 65,000 people would leave or be rejected by state health programs because of the funding cuts, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau's projections.
To Democrats, these cuts amount to "social injustices."
"The Republicans are waging a campaign against social justice and the enemy appears to be working-class families who are struggling to make ends meet," Sen. Bob Jauch, D-Poplar, said in a statement.
Rep. Tamara Grigsby, D-Milwaukee, expressed similar concerns. "There is no justification for stealing health care from 65,000 citizens, including nearly 30,000 children," she said in a statement.
The budget's proposal next requires approval from President Barack Obama's administration by year's end.
If not signed by Dec. 31, more than 50,000 people will be excluded from the programs to create immediate savings.
-Kendalyn Thoma
