A local group of concerned parents and advocates for people with disabilities say they are concerned that Republicans in congress may try again to repeal and replace Obamacare when congress returns to Washington after the spring break this week. The group, Concerned Advocates for the 6th District , say Wisconsin Medicaid programs are working and don’t need fixing. Sarah Christensen of Fond du Lac has a biological child and foster child who both need special medical care or therapy. “One of the big things I don’t know if the general public realizes is that when a child enters foster care in Wiscsonsin many of them are automatically put on Badger Care Plus which is a Medicaid program,” Christensen told WFDL news. Oshkosh resident Pam DeLap says her son has autism and is supported by therapy in school funded by Medicaid. “We’ve invested all this money into our kids over the last ten to 15 years and we’re just now seeing those kids graduate out of high school and going to see the benefit of our investment. This could cut them off at the knees,” DeLap said. Fond du Lac resident Laurie Develice says her 22 year old son uses IRIS for long-term support to help him at home and in the community as he learns to become more independent. “My concern is probably even more so that he doesn’t even have real specific, difficult needs that he needs attended to. So he might be the one that gets his services cut.” The group says they want to schedule face to face meetings with local legislators including congressman Glen Grothman to share their concerns. Develice says lawmakers need to meet with families and people with disabilities to understand how this could impact taxpayers in the long run. The group says under the GOP proposal Wisconsin could lose about a billion dollars in Medicaid funds over the next decade.
