Source: Madison Capital Times
Gov. Scott Walker turned up the heat on Democratic senators who have left the state rather than vote on his bill by warning Thursday that their actions could force the state to delay payments for patients in nursing homes.
A press statement released by Walker’s office Thursday, along with a brief memo from the Wisconsin Budget office, claims that if the budget repair bill is not soon passed, “the state will no longer be able to pay providers or vendors.”
The statement triggered a furious response from an advocacy group. “The Walker Administration is now using the 1.2 million individuals enrolled in BadgerCare and Medicaid as political hostages,” says Bobby Peterson, executive director of ABC for Health in a press release. “The Walker Administration should stop scaring and threatening the people that need health care coverage in Wisconsin. Health care should be a right NOT a bargaining chip!!”
The dueling press releases were released just hours after around 25 protesters, some of them members of the disabled community in wheelchairs, occupied the offices of the state GOP party waving signs and chanting. The standoff lasted for nearly three hours before protesters left with copies of a letter to Walker from the GOP state executive director, Mark Jefferson, passing along their demand that the governor meet with them. The protesters say they want Walker to hear directly from them their concerns about provisions in the bill that they say will allow the administration to gut the program without legislative or public input.
shit they were right about the death panels it's just the wrong party
