MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The Latest on discussion of the federal health care overhaul (all times local):
3:05 p.m.
The head of the Wisconsin Hospital Association is urging Gov. Scott Walker to parlay his influence with the White House and Republican leaders in Congress to make significant changes to the stalled health care overhaul bill.
Hospital Association President Eric Borgerding outlined more than a dozen points of concern in a letter marked as hand-delivered to Walker on Monday.
Borgerding has been speaking publicly this week about the group’s concerns and its estimate that 311,000 people in the state would lose insurance coverage by 2026 under the GOP plan.
House Speaker Paul Ryan planned to vote on the bill Thursday but delayed it as he and President Donald Trump continued to try and reach a deal to secure its passage.
Walker had no immediate comment on the concerns raised in the letter.
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12:25 p.m.
Democratic State Rep. Jimmy Anderson says the Affordable Care Act was his only “glimmer of hope” when facing insurmountable medical bills after being paralyzed in a 2010 car crash.
Anderson was about to hit his insurance’s lifetime limit when provisions from so-called “Obamacare” kicked in and changed that. Anderson says the Republican plan to repeal and replace the legislation will have “real consequences for real people.”
Anderson made the comments at a news conference held by Democratic state Sen. Jon Erpenbach of Middleton and Rep. Daniel Riemer of Milwaukee. The two say the Republican plan to provide Medicaid funding in block grants amounts to “rationing” health care for the most vulnerable populations, including the elderly, people with disabilities, low-income children and families and pregnant women.
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11:20 a.m.
Health care advocates in Wisconsin who work to ensure poor people have insurance are bemoaning the potential end of the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare.”
Health care leaders said at a conference Thursday that the proposed Republican replacement being discussed in Congress would be disastrous for the state and nation. Jon Peacock is research director for Wisconsin Children and Families. He calls the GOP proposal a “wrecking ball” that will erode the foundation of Medicaid and erase gains made in access to health care over the last decade.
Bobby Peterson is executive director of a Madison law firm that helps people in poverty. He says health care advocates must be “resolute” to fight the changes and push for health care for everyone.
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9:45 a.m.
A Democratic state lawmaker says people in her Madison legislative district are “terrified” about changes being proposed to the federal health care law.
State Rep. Melissa Sargent made the comment Thursday during a panel discussion with state health care leaders. She and other lawmakers were discussing the Republican proposal on the same day the House was expected to take a vote on the measure.
State policy makers and health care advocates are trying to determine what the impact of the proposal would be on the state. The Wisconsin Hospital Association estimates that 311,000 people in the state could lose insurance under the GOP plan by 2026.
Bobby Peterson with a nonprofit Madison law firm that helps low-income people get health care says, “We can’t overstate the impact this will have on the people we care about.”
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6:36 a.m.
Health care advocates in Wisconsin are gathering along with policy makers to discuss the proposed federal health care overhaul law as a vote nears in Congress.
Democratic opponents and people affected by the House Republican proposal also planned to speak out against it Thursday.
The House debate comes on the same day as a conference that’s bringing together advocates who work with low-income and disabled people to find health care. The HealthWatch conference also features a panel with Republican and Democratic state lawmakers discussing health care policy in the state and nationally.
The plan to replace the current national health care law is being championed by Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan, of Janesville. Various estimates say it will result in more than 100,000 people in Wisconsin losing insurance.
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