Sen. Baldwin speaks in La Crosse about federal attempts to slash Medicaid

Some area parents who worry about potential government cuts in Medicaid and other service programs got the chance to tell their concerns to US Sen. Tammy Baldwin on Monday.

Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) led a roundtable discussion in La Crosse about efforts to prevent major federal funding cuts proposed by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

Baldwin criticized Musk for calling Social Security a “Ponzi scheme.”

“We pay into Medicare, we pay into Social Security,” Baldwin told reporters. “It’s not a Ponzi scheme, and Elon Musk needs to keep his hands off Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.”

Baldwin has called her statewide trip this week the “Hands Off Medicaid Tour,” and disputes the claims of President Trump and his supporters that almost $900 billion in the Medicaid budget are being wasted, saying the dollars “are being used wisely.”

Speakers invited to the discussion told of difficulties in paying the costs of caring for family members with conditions such as autism and Downs syndrome. One parent who sat down with Baldwin was Bethany McAlister of West Salem, who has two sons that need medical therapy.

“In our family, it allows our boys to stay at home,” said McAlister. “It allows my husband and I to keep working, and for my boys to continue to grow and learn, and just to be meaningful contributing members of society.” McAlister says costs for that therapy and medications can be “astronomical.”

Baldwin continues her tour Tuesday in Eau Claire, heading to Madison and Racine later in the week.