🏥 Hospital beds in hallways. Patient care in ambulance bays and storage rooms. That’s what healthcare in Wisconsin looks like right now, and emergency room doctors say it’s going to get worse. Federal cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) have significantly reduced healthcare funding, driving more uninsured patients to emergency departments and forcing overcrowded hospitals to utilize hallway and overflow spaces. Healthcare advocates, providers, and organizations warn these budget rollbacks strain emergency rooms, which are forced to act as an immediate safety net for patients lacking access to primary care clinics. A western Wisconsin ER physician says she can’t understand why Wisconsin Republican Representatives Derrick Van Orden and Tom Tiffany voted in favor of the cuts. ✏️: Salina Heller
