Budget Repair Bill

Governor Walker’s budget repair bill is not about balancing the state budget. It’s an attack on Wisconsin women and families.

Governor Walker signed the budget repair bill into law on March 11, 2011

Family planning health care services are facing attacks like never before--in Congress and now in Wisconsin. Governor Walker's budget repair bill threatens the future of BadgerCare and BadgerCare Family Planning. Walker's proposal gives DHS sweeping power to change BadgerCare, including cutting eligibility, reducing benefits, and increasing premiums.

The gravity of this attack cannot be underestimated. Walker's bill would be devastating for the 750,000 working families, women, and children that rely on BadgerCare and BadgerCare Family Planning for the only health care they receive.  At a time when more Wisconsinites are losing employer-sponsored health insurance, Governor Walker should not be kicking working families off BadgerCare.

BadgerCare Family Planning:

• Provides cancer screenings, breast exams, testing and treatment for STDs, pre-pregnancy and pregnancy counseling, annual check-ups, and access to birth control for 60,000 Wisconsin women and men.
• Has saved the state more than $700 million during the life of the program.
• Is the single most cost-effective health care investment for the state during these uncertain economic times.

Hundreds of thousands of working women and men throughout Wisconsin have access to health care because of BadgerCare and BadgerCare Family Planning. Walker’s bill is not about balancing the state budget. It’s an attack on women and families. In fact, according to the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, the bill does not result in any savings for the current fiscal year.

The rights of Wisconsin citizens are in jeopardy.  Planned Parenthood has joined with our Union brothers and sisters who face an unprecedented attack by Governor Scott Walker's budget bill.   Walker's proposal will strip away the rights of ALL public workers to organize and bargain collectively.  A right Wisconsinites have had since 1959.  As women's health advocates, we know full well that the government should not be in the business of taking away citizen's rights.

Walker's budget repair bill would impact ALL public employees--all state, county, city, and local government employees. Teachers who teach at Wisconsin public schools. Nurses who work at city health departments. Social workers, Child care workers, Home health care providers, Public Defenders, and thousands of other employees that keep Wisconsin working everyday.

The Unions have long stood by Planned Parenthood in our collective fight for progressive values. Unions are at the forefront in the fight for equal pay, child care benefits, job security, safe workplaces, affordable health care, contraceptive equity, and protection from sexual harassment and violence at work. And the Unions were critical partners during our fight for health care reform last year to ensure that women's health was made a priority. Now, we stand together with the Unions in the fight to protect working women, men and families.