A "big tent" coalition aims to spur solutions to a Wisconsin health care accessibility crisis. A new coalition of 23 organizations has coalesced around the issue, and spokesperson Robert Kraig with Citizen Action of Wisconsin says they're supportive of proposals contained in Governor Jim Doyle's state budget. "I think it's a very good idea to expand Medicaid programs in order to cover . . . tens of thousands who can't get health insurance on the private market," says Kraig.
Kraig acknowledges that there will be "pushback" against the funding mechanisms proposed by the governor, but he calls those funding sources, a cigarette tax increase and a hospital bed tax, appropriate. Kraig says the labor and advocacy groups which comprise the coalition are not settled on one plan, but do want to see a comprehensive solution from this legislative session, one which guarantees health care access for all.
