Eau Claire Residents Rally Against Medicaid Cuts at Sacred Heart

EAU CLAIRE, Wis (WCFW) – Eau Claire residents gathered at the former Sacred Heart Hospital site on Thursday to rally against healthcare cuts in the federal budget.

The rally was part of Senator Bernie Sanders’ nationwide “Fight Oligarchy” tour. Senator Sanders visited Altoona as part of the tour earlier this year, but was unable to call into Thursday’s event as planned due to a conflict with his travel schedule.

“Residents report longer travel times for specialty care, uncertainty around maternity and emergency services, and overcrowding and growing pressure on existing healthcare providers,” Senator Sanders said in a statement. “Further federal cuts like the $1.1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act will only deepen this crisis. Derrick Van Orden’s vote for this legislation was a direct attack on this region’s most vulnerable patients, including low-income families, seniors, rural residents, and people with disabilities.”

It’s now been over a year since HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire and HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chippewa Falls closed their doors. While local officials have advanced plans to open multiple new hospitals, area residents have been struggling with inadequate access to healthcare in the interim. Emergency and delivery services have suffered some of the most significant effects of the closures.

Cuts in the new federal budget bill could eventually threaten those new hospitals, as well as other rural hospitals in neighboring communities. EMS service providers also report higher operational costs and longer wait times as a result of the hospital closures.

Third Congressional District candidate Rebecca Cooke also spoke at Thursday’s rally, warning of further rural healthcare closures as a result of the cuts. “It’s going to affect everyone,” she said. “And we’ve already seen, you know 60-70% of Wisconsin hospitals are reimbursed with Medicaid and Medicare, and that reimbursement doesn’t cover the cost. So I think when you’re cutting Medicare and Medicaid too, you’re going to see even more hospitals close. The burden of care on hospitals in particular is only going to get worse.”

Laura Benjamin, another candidate for Wisconsin’s Third Congressional District, attended the event in a show of unity against the cuts. “I’m here today in solidarity as a member of a bigger coalition to show that it’s more than just who is fighting for the Democratic Party right now,” she said. “It’s about us standing together to make sure that we show the Republican Party that we understand the game that they’re playing and we’re not going to accept it anymore. We’re going to make sure that people in Western Wisconsin are well taken care of and have access to the care they need.”