Small businesses raise healthcare concerns; Tiffany defends Medicaid work requirements

MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Democrats and small business owners are sounding the alarm about healthcare. Many say the "One Big Beautiful Bill" has left their employees scrambling to find new health insurance options. This comes as healthcare costs have become a focal point in political campaigns.

The bill, supported by Republicans, provides tax cuts to families, according to the White House website, but Democrats and some small business owners say it is costing everyday people their healthcare.

According to Protect Our Care Wisconsin, a left-leaning healthcare advocacy group, more than 65,000 Wisconsinites have already lost the healthcare they need due to the "Big Beautiful Bill" passed in July of last year.

“I usually only raise rates once a year, so we will have to look at that come January,” Macy Buhler, the owner of Yahara River Learning Center in DeForest, said.

Buhler, the owner of a childcare facility, gives a stipend to her 50 employees to help pay for their own health insurance plans. Many qualify for Affordable Care Act subsidies creating a lower monthly price, but with those subsidies now expired, their costs, and hers, have increased.

“I am looking at, for my small business, probably in the next year, it will be $150-175,000 added costs that I would have to put on the backs of working parents,” Buhler said.

Congressman and now-gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany voted for the Big Beautiful Bill. Democratic Congressman Mark Pocan, who voted against the bill, says he is hearing from his constituents.

“Their monthly portion that they pay in has doubled, or even tripled, and one person just got out of the system altogether, putting that money aside, hoping it covers their health insurance,” Congressman Mark Pocan, (D) Madison,said.

Pocan says the work requirements for Medicaid are also going to cause more people to lose healthcare. He says it will create an administrative burden. During his remarks, he used Arkansas as an example. He says when work requirements were introduced in Arkansas, 70% of the people who lost Medicaid were eligible for the program but couldn’t keep up with the paperwork requirements.

We reached out to Tom Tiffany for an interview about this topic, but he wasn’t available for an on-camera interview. We sat down with Tiffany during his primary run, and when we asked him about healthcare and those losing coverage or not being able to afford it, this is what he said:

“There’s people who are on the system here in Wisconsin that are able-bodied and can work. We should make sure that those who are able-bodied and can work, that they are at least getting job training, so hopefully we can get them off of the system, and that is going to free up money for those who are truly in need."

He says the state needs more options for healthcare plans and coverage. In the meantime, the business we spoke with says they are planning on losing employees.

“So, I’ve actually reduced how man kiddos I have brought into our center because of staffing, so that even reduces my revenue more,” Buhler said.

Late Tuesday afternoon, Tom Tiffany responded with a statement in response to Democrats, saying the following:

“Medicaid spending will increase by more than 30% over the next decade, and Wisconsin will receive $1 billion more in federal Medicaid funding than last year, along with more than $200 million for rural health care. We must preserve Medicaid for our most vulnerable while promoting responsibility among those who are able to work. Nearly 80% of Wisconsin voters supported welfare work requirements in 2023. That’s why I voted for a common-sense requirement that able-bodied, childless adults work, volunteer, or participate in job training for at least 20 hours per week, with exceptions for vulnerable populations. But protecting Medicaid is only part of the equation. Wisconsin families also need quality healthcare they can afford. Obamacare drove up healthcare costs, then turned to taxpayers to subsidize those higher prices rather than fixing what was making care so expensive in the first place. As governor, I’ll increase competition, require upfront price transparency, and expand healthcare options so families can choose the coverage and care that best fits their needs."