MILWAUKEE — Wisconsin mother Nancy Gapinski worries about potential Medicaid cuts in President Trump's proposed budget bill as she relies on the program to help care for her autistic son Ben.
"I fear when politicians talk about this issue they don't have a full picture of how many people it impacts," Gapinski said.
While Gapinski has employer-based health insurance, she turned to Medicaid to cover expensive medical bills that provided in-home help for her son, whose needs will continue as he transitions into adulthood.
"Paying bills, scheduling medication, a lot of those things that many of us who don't have disabilities just take for granted," Gapinski said.
Watch: Senator Johnson not ready to support Trump's 'big beautiful bill'
Senator Ron Johnson said his concern is not with traditional Medicaid for children but with states he claims are gaming the system through Obamacare's Medicaid expansion.
Johnson wants work requirements for some people on Medicaid.
"For traditional Medicaid, for every dollar the state spend on it the state kicks in a $1.33," Johnson said. "For Medicaid expansion for Obamacare — which again is not covering disabled children — is covering single able-bodied working age childless adults. For every dollar the state spend on Medicaid expansion, the federal government kicks in $9.00"
Johnson currently opposes President Trump's budget bill that recently passed the House with no Democratic support. The bill would extend the Trump tax cuts from2017 and reduce Medicaid spending.
Government accounting experts said the bill would increase deficit up to $4 trillion — the nation's debt now tops $36 trillion, which Johnson finds unacceptable.
"I don't talk about cuts. I talk about returning to a reasonable pre-pandemic spending — the same exact expenditures, Clinton, Obama and Trump — that's not cutting," Johnson said. "That's getting back to a reasonable spending level."
Elon Musk, who uncovered an estimated $175 billion in spending cuts, has criticized the bill for undermining his DOGE cost-cutting efforts – a position Johnson agrees with.
Johnson has also expressed concerns about President Trump's changing positions on tariffs and trade negotiations, saying they create uncertainty for businesses' future capital investment. While he sees advantages in making trade deals that reduce the U.S. supply chain dependence on China, Johnson maintains that tariffs are essentially a tax.
He ultimately believes Trump will likely settle on 10% tariffs across the board.
This story was reported by Charles Benson and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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