One Wisconsin Now

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker may have inherited a less than perfect situation but he has managed to make it so much worse. Rather than make sound budgetary decisions he has opted to manage by political calculation and blind ideology. Walker ’s latest budget is certainly no exception as he is now proposing to cut over 300 jobs from an already strained workforce while also cutting many important programs for some of the most vulnerable people in Milwaukee County .

One of Walker ’s proposed cuts should serve as a perfect example of his fundamentally flawed decision making. In the Behavioral Health Division there is a program that I am especially aware of called Targeted Case Management. My knowledge of this program comes from having a relative that has greatly benefited from it since its inception a number of years ago.

Targeted Case Management pairs up a person living with serious mental health issues, with a case manager who assists them in many areas of life that most of us take for granted. Many people struggling with serious mental illness sometimes don’t have the capacity to properly manage a checkbook, find and hold a job, or find and keep adequate housing. Targeted Case Management provides help and training in these and other important areas which helps each consumer with living to their full potential.

JB Van Hollen, the Republican Attorney General who also coincidentally serves as the co-chair of John McCain's presidential campaign, was on Wisconsin Public Radio today talking about his partisan lawsuit to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters in predominately Wisconsin's cities.

Over and over again Van Hollen referred those opposing his partisan lawsuit, such as the non-partisan League of Women Voters, the Governmental Accountability Board and its six retired judges, as well as disability and voter rights groups as his "opponents."

Although the media is trying its best to paint him as something different, Congressman Paul Ryan continues to prove that he is from the same polluted conservative mold as the most unpopular president in history. While the rhetoric around Ryan may suggest otherwise, reality and his actual record have proven him to be nothing more than a rubber stamp of the worst kind. The latest example came only yesterday when he voted against a bill with massive bipartisan support. The bill postponed a planned cut in payments to physicians who treat Medicare patients. If the bill is not passed before July 1 doctors that treat Medicare patients will take a 10.6 percent hit. Such a dramatic pay cut could easily jeopardize access for both seniors and the disabled. Why would Paul Ryan vote for that?

Ryan’s vote is even more peculiar when you consider that 129 of his fellow Republicans joined with the Democrats to support the bill. There are only two explanations for Ryan’s hard line against this measure. Either he is just that loyal to a grossly out of touch president that has promised to veto it or he has a deep desire to protect big insurance at all costs. The cut to doctors was replaced by a reduction in payments to private insurers that participate in the Medicare Advantage program. According to a congressional advisory commission, those companies get some 13 percent more than it costs Medicare to offer services itself. For a guy that prides himself on his imagined budgetary prowess, it seems an odd thing to defend. Someone should corner Ryan and ask him exactly why he would rather cut doctors and seniors rather than slow down the gravy train for big insurance.

Having looked all over my house for my missing driver’s license, it was clear that I needed to make a trip out to the DMV in Madison to get a replacement—a perfect chance to spell out what goes into a trip to the DMV, like thousands of Wisconsinites will have to do if state leggies and “voter ID” advocates Jeff “Poll Tax” Stone and Joe “Can’t Prove a Voter Fraud Case” Liebham had their way and passed a ridiculous voter ID law in Wisconsin.

The DMV office in Madison I went to is open from 8:30-4:15 MWF, and from 10-5:45 Tuesday and Thursday – not exactly convenient for a 9-6 working man. But hey if I want to vote, I need an ID, right Jeff? So I bit the bullet and took off from work at 3 pm on Thursday. So I’m already being charged for my right to vote – losing at least 3 hours of work time, and using 3 hours of my vacation time. So far, total estimated cost: $50.

On “normal” days, I walk to work. But today, since I need my car to get to the far-east side DMV, I had to pay to park - $6 more.

Over the years I have heard hundreds of heart-wrenching stories about individuals and families who suffer as a result of health insurers failing to provide the same coverage for mental illnesses as they do for physical ailments.

One Wisconsin woman shared with me an especially poignant story that illustrates the imbalance of the current system.

In the same year, this woman’s husband and daughter both required major medical care because of life-threatening conditions. One had a disease of the kidneys and one suffered from severe clinical depression.

Both patients required emergency visits and extended treatment. Both patients were compliant and followed their doctor’s treatment instructions. Both patients were covered under the same family policy.

But the insurance covered twice as much of the costs associated with the kidney disease as it did for the severe depression, simply because depression is a mental illness.