Rising healthcare costs push more uninsured patients to free clinics
CBS 58 MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- At the Bread of Healing Clinic in Milwaukee, staff members say they are already seeing more uninsured patients and expect that number to continue growing.
For Linda Taylor, the clinic has become her healthcare home after she could no longer afford insurance.
Bread of Healing Clinic
“I couldn’t afford insurance,” Taylor said. “So, when I called 211 and they sent me here I have been here ever since. With my job I don’t get paid much and I can't afford it with my bills and things I have to live on. I come here and it doesn't make me feel small.”
Taylor said the clinic has helped her get the care and medication she needs.
“I would have been somewhere lost and needing help,” Taylor said. “I couldn’t walk, I didn't have medication. Just my high blood pressure pills by itself were $200-$300.”
The clinic says more patients are losing access to affordable coverage.
A report from KFF, a nonpartisan health policy group, shows people with Affordable Care Act marketplace plans are paying more after federal tax credits ended. The average monthly payment increased from $113 to $178, a 58% increase.
In early 2027, some Wisconsin BadgerCare Plus members will also have to show 80 hours of work, school or volunteering each month to keep their coverage.
Erica Wright, executive director of Bread of Healing Clinic, said the clinic is preparing for a possible increase in demand.
“How much can we do? How much can we expand? Can we absorb the backlash of this?” Wright said.
Wright said the clinic is already seeing patients with greater health needs and more concerns about the future.
“We’ve seen people come in that are sicker, we’ve seen people that are terrified of what kind of care and access they will have in the future,” Wright said.
To keep up with demand, Bread of Healing Clinic is expanding its hours and planning a new south side clinic at Unity Lutheran Church.
“We welcome people who have lost their insurance,” said Margaret Dunn, a staff physician at Bread of Healing Clinic. “We feel for them and want to work with them.”
