Governor warns 'Big Beautiful Bill' could cost Wisconsin taxpayers $284 million
These additional costs would result from new burdensome requirements from the federal government regarding both Medicaid and food-assistance programs as well as cuts to the federal share for the programs themselves.
Gov. Tony Evers is warning Wisconsinites of the significant financial impact of President Trump’s recent legislation – the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill.”
Citing dozens of provisions in the bill, Evers and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services estimates that Wisconsin taxpayers might be on the hook for $284 million in each future two-year budget cycle. At the same time, they say, 270,000 people could lose their health insurance while tens of thousands of Wisconsinites might lose access to basic food necessities.
They argue these additional costs would result from new burdensome requirements from the federal government regarding both Medicaid and food-assistance programs as well as cuts to the federal share for the programs themselves.
“Wisconsinites shouldn’t have to pay the price for a reckless Republican bill that’s going to add trillions of dollars to our federal deficit and shift hundreds of millions of dollars in costs to hard-working taxpayers, all so Republicans could pay for tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations,” Evers said. “Wisconsinites aren’t getting a fair shake from Republicans in Washington—that’s plain as day.”
DHS Secretary Kirsten Johnson warns that’s just “the tip of the iceberg,” citing increased uncompensated care for hospitals and cuts to farm aid that she says will cause a ripple effect and impact local economies.
The Department of Human Services cited a host of specific ways Wisconsin will be hurt by federal cuts, noting that one in every five Wisconsinites are enrolled in Medicaid, including 60 percent of folks who live in nursing homes.
The reduction in the GOP bill of provider taxes will impact the state’s investments in hospitals, they warn, while penalties of as much as 15 percent could be levied on the state if its Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) administrative error rate rises to just six percent. Such penalties could ultimately cost state taxpayers more than $200 million annually. Wisconsin will already be paying 25 percent more for SNAP under the bill’s shift of administrative costs.
In addition, administrative costs for the new Medicaid and SNAP reporting requirements are expected to cost the state $140 million over the next two years, with another $12 million expected to be needed to hire additional FoodShare quality control staff to avoid reaching the six-percent error threshold.
The governor released a final analysis of the ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ including a new analysis of the bill’s economic and fiscal impacts to Wisconsin taxpayers.
Read the Governor's full press release
