Potential federal cuts to Medicaid have sparked heated debate between a city council and mayor in Wisconsin, a key battleground state narrowly won by President Donald Trump in November.
The Wausau City Council officially voted Tuesday to overturn Mayor Doug Diny’s veto that would halt the city from issuing a formal resolution against potential cuts to Medicaid.
Why It Matters
More than 70 million Americans rely on Medicaid for health care coverage, including many children, pregnant mothers, those with disabilities and seniors with limited income.
The current approved Republican budget from the House of Representatives would slash $880 billion from federal health and energy programs from 2025 to 2034. This has sparked concerns that Medicaid would experience the brunt of the budget cuts.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
What To Know
Wausau’s City Council overturned Mayor Doug Diny’s veto of the city’s resolution, expressing their opposition to possible federal cuts to Medicaid.
The overturn passed in a 9-0 vote despite Diny’s claims that the council should “stick to city business.”
The city council’s position is that Medicaid cuts would be city business, as roughly 25 percent of the population relies on Wisconsin’s Medicaid program, BadgerCare.
Diny, however, has said the City Council is acting “at the behest of the Democratic Party,” in recent statements.
Wisconsin flipped Republican in the 2024 presidential election as Trump defeated former Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris by just over 29,000 votes.
Newsweek reached out to the city council and Diny for comment via email.
What People Are Saying
Wausau Alder Victoria Tierney said, as reported by the Wausau Pilot and Review: “We’re not just talking about people who have access to Medicare. We’re talking about people who cannot get health care coverage any other way because their disabilities do not allow them to work. That is people within our city too, which, again, would put a strain on all of our medical services.”
Alder Lou Larson said: “There is a threat [to Medicaid]. If there wasn’t a threat, this wouldn’t be…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Newsweek…