The Doyle Administration has scaled-back a proposed tax on hospitals , but Republican budget-writers still don't like it. Joint Finance Committee Co-chair Kitty Rhoades (R-Hudson) says the proposal is absolutely offensive. She says it's a tax on the sick and compares it to the bed tax used for nursing homes. Rhoades says it's an abuse to expect people to subsidize the state's general fund while paying for medical care.
The Governor has reduced the proposed hospital tax by two-tenths of a percent. Still, Rhoades says Republicans in the legislature remain opposed.