WEBVTT
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Good morning, good evening, good afternoon.
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This is Dr.
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Ford, PolCheck Wisconsin.
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Welcome back.
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Uh, today we are very fortunate again to be joined by Milwaukee County Executive, and now officially Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Crowley, to discuss the future of healthcare in Wisconsin yet again, and what can be done to make our system safer and stronger.
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David, congratulations.
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Welcome back to the show.
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Thank you so much.
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Thank you for having me.
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Yeah, man.
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So all right.
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So before we get further into your plan, because I just saw an interview for you, one of my good friend, uh, G's, uh, G's Clippers down there, shout out to G— Yeah um, where you discuss, you know, your Badger Basics, right, as a public coverage option.
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Uh, but before we get into that, you know, I'm glad to have you back on the show for a second time.
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We've also invited, had an open invitation to Tom Tiffany to come on- Right and explain his plan for healthcare across the state, but he hasn't taken us up on that offer.
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Why do you think that is?
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W- And what do you, you know, what do Wisconsin voters lose when they don't hear directly from both candidates on this issue?
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Well, Dr.
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Ford, I'm glad you pro- you brought that up, because he doesn't want to actually talk to voters.
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He doesn't wanna talk to the media.
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That's why he's only agreed to do one debate, you know, between now and election day.
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He's actually stopped our re- uh, reporters from actually covering many of his events, and that's quite honestly is because he cannot defend the fact that he has been lockstep 100% of the time behind Donald Trump.
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Uh, but he also can't defend the fact that he's cut a trillion dollars from Medicaid and, and Medicare, right?
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Cut money from SNAP programs, which makes it difficult for our seniors to get access to the healthcare, and we need to lower their prescription drug prices as well.
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It makes it harder for our young people and for our veterans to get access, you know, to, to, to food while they're facing food insecurity, because we're constantly seeing the rising cost.
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And so at the end of the day, he is running away from reporters.
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He's running away from you, and he's running away from voters because he doesn't have a policy leg to stand up on, and he wants to continue to peddle the lies, the distractions, and the divisions in order to try to win this race.
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But for me, this is about talking directly with voters, connecting with them, meeting them where they are, but more importantly, allowing them to lend their voice to the solutions that they wanna see in Wisconsin.
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Yeah.
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And so, and, and you, you heard that, right?
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Uh, listeners, so I, I am not picking favorites here, right?
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I, I...
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Open invitation, Tom.
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You can come on whenever you want and discuss your plan or concepts thereof of a plan if you got'em.
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It seems like you walked lock and step with this administration, so we still are waiting on that plan.
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But let's talk about yours, because you have a plan.
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So you propose Badger Basics as a public coverage option.
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What problem are you trying to solve for Wisconsin families, and what would change for somebody who earns too much to qualify for BadgerCare today?
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You know, as I've traveled across the state, you know, there's a lot of different issues that we have to tackle because of the idiotic decisions that this Trump administration has, has put in place and, you know, Congressman Tom Tiffany continues to support.
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And so it's based on three pillars: affordability, care, and opportunity.
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You know, we wanna make life more affordable, whether we're talking gas prices, whether we're talking our groceries, housing, childcare, healthcare, you name it.
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And then care, right?
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It's about how do we care for our older adults to make sure that they can age, uh, in place, as well as people with disabilities, giving them a dignity to live on their own and independently to take care of themselves, and getting people greater access to healthcare and childcare.
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And then the last, uh, you know, leg of this stool, third leg of this stool is, is, is opportunity.
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How do we make sure that working families, our young people can see a future here in Wisconsin?
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And the Badger Basics is about making sure that we can expand, uh, healthcare across this state, and really using BadgerCare as an alternative to for-profit insurance.
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It's a program, a great program that we have here in the state of Wisconsin that covers a lot of different generic as well as brand name, uh, prescription drugs, and we'll be able to incentivize providers to make sure that in our rural communities, no one has to travel one to three hours away to get the care that they need.
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And it provides an opportunity to provide that comprehensive care.
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Not just physical care.
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We wanna make sure that mental, dental, and vision care is all included, and th- we will provide a, a sliding scale fee based off of your income.
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And so this would allow our, our students, our gig workers, our entrepreneurs, small business owners, our farmers, anyone who wants to pay into this, uh, new insurance program will have the ability, ability to do so, to receive the care whenever and whenever they need it, and to help lower prescription drug prices.
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Absolutely.
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You know, as a ER doctor, I can tell you how important it is to have that vision care, to have dental care, right?
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I often joke and say I'm the, I'm the, the night dentist, right?
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Because when people don't have that dental coverage- Yeah and they come in with tooth pain, they go to the emergency department, right?
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And so that's invaluable for people to have your vision and dental care go, you know, miles, right, in terms of talking about the importance for your health overall.
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So walk us through the plan as if I'm a parent shopping for coverage.
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Who could enroll?
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Who would it cover?
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And how would the premium be set?
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You know, it, it's almost like the Affordable Care Act, you know?
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It's something that provided an opportunity for people to get access to the care, and provided subsidies, you know, that Congressman Tom Tiffany, quite frankly, ended.
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And when we think about the, the, the sled- the sledgehammer that the Trump administration and Congressman Tiffany brought to Medicaid and Medicare and the Affordable Care Act, it is-- quite frankly, it has allowed premiums to double, especially in some of many of our rural communities.
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I've talked to farmers.
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I've been on two farms within the past couple of weeks, and when you hear about their premiums going from twelve hundred dollars a month to twenty-four hundred, now they have to make decisions, h- tough decisions.
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And whether-- and when we're talking about our older adults, right?
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Tom Tiffany voted against capping insulin prices at thirty f- uh, thirty-five dollars.
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Mm.
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You know, i- he, uh, you know, and, and, and making sure that-- He also voted against, you know, capping out-of-pocket costs for our seniors at two thousand dollars.
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And so this is an opportunity to make sure that we can provide the healthcare for communities all across Wisconsin.
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And so based off your income, we will look at what, what you would have to actually pay into this system.
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We're gonna make sure that providers are, again, incentivized to make sure that they can pro- not just pay for the coverage, but they're g- ac- actually getting reimbursed at the minimum at cost, because that's a huge issue for many of our providers.
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Because of this sledgehammer, right, we're seeing not just services decreasing, we're seeing many of our clinics, many of our hospital systems all across the state of Wisconsin actually close or reduce the amount of staff that they have, which means that you're not gonna get the same level of quality service that you've received in the past.
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And so by expanding BadgerCare, we're making sure that no one falls through the cracks.
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But it's also overlaying our no wrong door model of care.
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You know, we wanna make sure that whenever or however you enter the healthcare system, that we wrap around all the other services for you.
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Because if you have to make multiple phone calls or if you have to walk through multiple doors and engage with multiple institutions, you're probably not gonna get the care you need or continue to spend your wills, because you're, you're in dire situation.
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And so we're not just gonna look at health as healthcare, right?
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We wanna take in consideration the social determinants of health.
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Money in your pocket is health.
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Having access to affordable housing is health.
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Transportation, education, all these things.
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But overlaying that with expansion of BadgerCare not just helps out those who are uninsured, but it also helps out those who are in the private-- who also are private pay insurers.
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Mm.
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Because when somebody goes to the-- your emergency room, all of us across the entire system has to pay towards that.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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So, you know, how would it work alongside, and you spoke a little bit to this, to, you know, let's say if I have employer insurance or, you know, I have a, a-- I qualify for the ACA marketplace.
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Could people keep their current doctors, people, other doctors?
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Can they keep those?
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We wanna make sure that you can keep your current doctor.
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Okay.
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You can keep your current dentist.
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Uh, but it's also about expanding mental health care.
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And so we're gonna make sure that we have mental health navigators in all 72 counties to make sure you get the care you need.
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Yeah.
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Now, you, you- that's a good point, too, because that's something I underlined.
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You called for mental health navigators in all 72 counties.
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What would a navigator do, let's say, for somebody in crisis, and how would, you know, you measure whether that program is working in the long term?
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Well, you, you have to make sure that you're putting measurements in place.
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You know, as county executive, we were able to strengthen our mental health, uh, excuse me, our mental health system- Yeah working directly with the four large healthcare systems within southeastern Wisconsin, particularly Aurora, uh, Advocate Aurora, Children's Hospital, Froedtert, as well as Ascension, and they actually have a cost-sharing agreement with us.
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So it's not just us as local municipalities sharing the bru- you know, taking on the total cost of that.
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It's the healthcare systems who are with us.
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And by providing mental health navigators, it's about making sure that no one falls through the cracks.
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One, we have to strengthen the broad, uh, broadband infrastructure here in this state- Yeah so people can get access to telehealth.
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Two, we're gonna make sure that we have mobile crisis units working hand-in-hand with law enforcement to show up when there are a crisis.
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But we wanna also focus on how we can be proactive, how people can get access to the mental healthcare and the physical care and the dental and vision care that they need.
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By showing them, by being preventative, we'll show, uh, we'll save a lot more money, uh, long term.
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And so we wanna make sure that you don't have to c- you don't have to change your providers, that you don't have to travel one to three hours away to talk to your doctor of choice.
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We're gonna do that by increasing the reimbursement rates and making sure that you can get that care, again, wherever and whenever you need it.
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Yeah.
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And, you know, we, we've talked about this on this show and a couple other podcasts that I've done, uh, recently, but rural hospitals, especially here in the state of Wisconsin, are facing financial pressures, right?
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Especially as federal Medicaid funding is changing.
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You know, we're all bracing for January 1st.
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What can you do as Wisconsin governor when you get in to keep essential services, including emergency and maternity care, we're facing some maternity healthcare deserts, close to home like you spoke to, right?
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We don't want people to drive an hour or two away for that medical coverage.
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Well, right now we're just talking about, you know, the healthcare system, right?
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The system of how it works within itself.
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But the system cannot work if you don't have a workforce, if you don't have nurses, if you don't have doctors- Yeah if you don't have the support staff that's actually going to be employed to deliver those services.
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And so we have to work with our technical colleges as well as our university systems, and actually connect them to our high schools, right?
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In making sure that we can create that pipeline of healthcare workers here in the state of Wisconsin.
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And, and I also wanna touch on the fact that when we talk about reimbursement rates, we're talking also about home healthcare workers- Yeah who are literally taking care of our most vulnerable populations.
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And so some of those workers, they can't take care of themselves because we have not increased the reimbursement rate.
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And because we still have, you know, a, a, a minimum wage of$7 and 70, uh, 25 cents an hour, we need to up that to$20 an hour to incentivize people to be a part of these systems.
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And so we have to put our money not just where our mouth is, but we also have to leverage our educational institutions all across Wisconsin to make sure that we're pipelining this workforce into the regional healthcare systems so we don't create an imbalance across this state.
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We wanna make sure that all four corners of Wisconsin, anywhere and everywhere in between, that you can get access to that care.
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Because we know that over 20 counties don't even have a practicing OBGYN.
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Yeah.
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And we wanna improve infant, our infant mortality rates, our maternity mortality rates, uh, because right now the state of Wisconsin, we've, we've been do- we haven't been doing great work.
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I'm glad that we were finally able to expand, you know, Medicare, uh, for our, our, our, our, our, our mothers- Mm-hmm that are out there.
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Yeah.
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But we need-- There's more that we need to do.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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You know, y- y- David, you've drawn a sharp contrast with your opponent, Tom Tiffany, on Medicaid, ACA tax credits as well.
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Tiffany has even gone as far as describing warnings that we talked about here about rural hospital closures as fear-mongering, right?
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What evidence-- Let's say, you know, you got a voter that's on the fence right now.
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What evidence would you put before that voter, and what would you say to a rural hospital leader worried about the next few years if they can keep the lights on?
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Well, I think the evidence is, is all around us.
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And, you know, while we were actually traveling in the Northwoods, this was one of the biggest issues that are facing rural communities all across Wisconsin.
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And so if, if Congressman Tom Tiffany doesn't believe that, you know, the fact that our hospitals are going to be closing or the$50 million that they're giving away to rural communities in the state of Wisconsin is going to solve the problem, he has another thing coming.
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And he actually needs to actually talk, you know, to his, to his constituents that he represent.
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Unfortunately, you know, I think that he's had his, his head up Trump's butt for so long that he can't hear anything that is around him.
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I mean, he has been lockstep with Trump 100% of the time.
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And while I've been happily married for the past 10 years, I don't even agree with my wife 100% of the time, right?
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But we know how to sit at the table, you know, talk about our differences, and figure out how we reach our goals, and that's what we need right i- in the state of Wisconsin when it comes down to healthcare.
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You know, this is affecting Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and quite frankly, people who don't care about politics.
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And so I would argue that Congressman Tom Tiffany, he needs to stop, you know, jet-setting around this state and focus on talking directly to the people who are hurting the most, because the affordability crisis and the healthcare crisis that we're seeing across this state is real.
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Yeah.
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Well, County Executive Crowley, you know, for Wisconsin residents, just to wrap it up, who have put off visits, right?
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I've seen a couple of them today when I was working.
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Put off a prescription, put off dental care because of cost.
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What is something in closing that you want them to know about your plan and something that you want them to know about your administration in going forward?
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Well, I think that, you know, there's a, there's a very clear choice when it comes down to this race.
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You know, when it comes down to my campaign and who I am, I'm going to be a governor that works for the people of Wisconsin.
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And when you think about Congressman Tom Tiffany, he's going to work for those who is padding his pockets the most.
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When Big Pharma gave him campaign contributions, he voted against lowering prescription drugs.
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When, when he started to receive, uh, billions of do- or millions of dollars in, in, in, in dollars for his campaign, he started to vote for tax breaks for the wealthy, taking money out of hardworking Wisconsinites' pockets.
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And so as we move forward, this is about Wisconsinites, getting you the access to care that you need, lowering your prescription drug prices, and making sure that you can see a future here where you can afford to live, work, play, and continue to be healthy.
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We wanna make the state of Wisconsin the healthiest state in the Midwest come 2035, and we'll do that by making sure that people get access to the care they need.
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That part.
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He is County Executive David Crowley, current Democratic candidate for the office of governor of the state of Wisconsin.
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David, I appreciate you, man.
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Best of luck in going forward, brother.
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Thank you so much.
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Thank you for having me, Dr.
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Ford.
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All right.
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Have a good one.
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Peace.
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Good morning, good evening, good afternoon.
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This is Dr.
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Ford, PolCheck Wisconsin.
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Welcome back.
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Uh, today we are very fortunate again to be joined by Milwaukee County Executive, and now officially Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Crowley, to discuss the future of healthcare in Wisconsin yet again, and what can be done to make our system safer and stronger.
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David, congratulations.
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Welcome back to the show.
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Thank you so much.
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Thank you for having me.
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Yeah, man.
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So all right.
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So before we get further into your plan, because I just saw an interview for you, one of my good friend, uh, G's, uh, G's Clippers down there, shout out to G— Yeah um, where you discuss, you know, your Badger Basics, right, as a public coverage option.
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Uh, but before we get into that, you know, I'm glad to have you back on the show for a second time.
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We've also invited, had an open invitation to Tom Tiffany to come on- Right and explain his plan for healthcare across the state, but he hasn't taken us up on that offer.
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Why do you think that is?
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W- And what do you, you know, what do Wisconsin voters lose when they don't hear directly from both candidates on this issue?
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Well, Dr.
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Ford, I'm glad you pro- you brought that up, because he doesn't want to actually talk to voters.
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He doesn't wanna talk to the media.
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That's why he's only agreed to do one debate, you know, between now and election day.
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He's actually stopped our re- uh, reporters from actually covering many of his events, and that's quite honestly is because he cannot defend the fact that he has been lockstep 100% of the time behind Donald Trump.
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Uh, but he also can't defend the fact that he's cut a trillion dollars from Medicaid and, and Medicare, right?
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Cut money from SNAP programs, which makes it difficult for our seniors to get access to the healthcare, and we need to lower their prescription drug prices as well.
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It makes it harder for our young people and for our veterans to get access, you know, to, to, to food while they're facing food insecurity, because we're constantly seeing the rising cost.
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And so at the end of the day, he is running away from reporters.
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He's running away from you, and he's running away from voters because he doesn't have a policy leg to stand up on, and he wants to continue to peddle the lies, the distractions, and the divisions in order to try to win this race.
00:03:15.322 --> 00:03:25.731
But for me, this is about talking directly with voters, connecting with them, meeting them where they are, but more importantly, allowing them to lend their voice to the solutions that they wanna see in Wisconsin.
00:03:26.322 --> 00:03:26.591
Yeah.
00:03:26.851 --> 00:03:28.841
And so, and, and you, you heard that, right?
00:03:28.882 --> 00:03:32.112
Uh, listeners, so I, I am not picking favorites here, right?
00:03:32.112 --> 00:03:32.471
I, I...
00:03:32.512 --> 00:03:34.002
Open invitation, Tom.
00:03:34.002 --> 00:03:39.302
You can come on whenever you want and discuss your plan or concepts thereof of a plan if you got'em.
00:03:39.302 --> 00:03:43.442
It seems like you walked lock and step with this administration, so we still are waiting on that plan.
00:03:43.692 --> 00:03:45.901
But let's talk about yours, because you have a plan.
00:03:45.901 --> 00:03:49.992
So you propose Badger Basics as a public coverage option.
00:03:50.262 --> 00:03:57.231
What problem are you trying to solve for Wisconsin families, and what would change for somebody who earns too much to qualify for BadgerCare today?
00:03:58.697 --> 00:04:11.207
You know, as I've traveled across the state, you know, there's a lot of different issues that we have to tackle because of the idiotic decisions that this Trump administration has, has put in place and, you know, Congressman Tom Tiffany continues to support.
00:04:11.557 --> 00:04:15.957
And so it's based on three pillars: affordability, care, and opportunity.
00:04:16.257 --> 00:04:23.358
You know, we wanna make life more affordable, whether we're talking gas prices, whether we're talking our groceries, housing, childcare, healthcare, you name it.
00:04:23.757 --> 00:04:24.877
And then care, right?
00:04:24.877 --> 00:04:39.137
It's about how do we care for our older adults to make sure that they can age, uh, in place, as well as people with disabilities, giving them a dignity to live on their own and independently to take care of themselves, and getting people greater access to healthcare and childcare.
00:04:39.418 --> 00:04:44.707
And then the last, uh, you know, leg of this stool, third leg of this stool is, is, is opportunity.
00:04:45.048 --> 00:04:49.848
How do we make sure that working families, our young people can see a future here in Wisconsin?
00:04:50.197 --> 00:04:59.887
And the Badger Basics is about making sure that we can expand, uh, healthcare across this state, and really using BadgerCare as an alternative to for-profit insurance.
00:04:59.987 --> 00:05:16.798
It's a program, a great program that we have here in the state of Wisconsin that covers a lot of different generic as well as brand name, uh, prescription drugs, and we'll be able to incentivize providers to make sure that in our rural communities, no one has to travel one to three hours away to get the care that they need.
00:05:16.837 --> 00:05:19.927
And it provides an opportunity to provide that comprehensive care.
00:05:20.027 --> 00:05:21.177
Not just physical care.
00:05:21.447 --> 00:05:30.507
We wanna make sure that mental, dental, and vision care is all included, and th- we will provide a, a sliding scale fee based off of your income.
00:05:30.548 --> 00:05:48.937
And so this would allow our, our students, our gig workers, our entrepreneurs, small business owners, our farmers, anyone who wants to pay into this, uh, new insurance program will have the ability, ability to do so, to receive the care whenever and whenever they need it, and to help lower prescription drug prices.
00:05:49.387 --> 00:05:49.717
Absolutely.
00:05:49.747 --> 00:05:55.887
You know, as a ER doctor, I can tell you how important it is to have that vision care, to have dental care, right?
00:05:55.887 --> 00:05:58.858
I often joke and say I'm the, I'm the, the night dentist, right?
00:05:58.858 --> 00:06:04.157
Because when people don't have that dental coverage- Yeah and they come in with tooth pain, they go to the emergency department, right?
00:06:04.157 --> 00:06:13.267
And so that's invaluable for people to have your vision and dental care go, you know, miles, right, in terms of talking about the importance for your health overall.
00:06:13.277 --> 00:06:17.877
So walk us through the plan as if I'm a parent shopping for coverage.
00:06:17.877 --> 00:06:18.757
Who could enroll?
00:06:19.027 --> 00:06:20.017
Who would it cover?
00:06:20.048 --> 00:06:22.077
And how would the premium be set?
00:06:23.401 --> 00:06:26.741
You know, it, it's almost like the Affordable Care Act, you know?
00:06:26.791 --> 00:06:34.731
It's something that provided an opportunity for people to get access to the care, and provided subsidies, you know, that Congressman Tom Tiffany, quite frankly, ended.
00:06:35.091 --> 00:06:49.651
And when we think about the, the, the sled- the sledgehammer that the Trump administration and Congressman Tiffany brought to Medicaid and Medicare and the Affordable Care Act, it is-- quite frankly, it has allowed premiums to double, especially in some of many of our rural communities.
00:06:49.651 --> 00:06:50.601
I've talked to farmers.
00:06:50.632 --> 00:07:02.171
I've been on two farms within the past couple of weeks, and when you hear about their premiums going from twelve hundred dollars a month to twenty-four hundred, now they have to make decisions, h- tough decisions.
00:07:02.541 --> 00:07:05.201
And whether-- and when we're talking about our older adults, right?
00:07:06.051 --> 00:07:11.091
Tom Tiffany voted against capping insulin prices at thirty f- uh, thirty-five dollars.
00:07:11.361 --> 00:07:11.371
Mm.
00:07:11.382 --> 00:07:19.431
You know, i- he, uh, you know, and, and, and making sure that-- He also voted against, you know, capping out-of-pocket costs for our seniors at two thousand dollars.
00:07:19.891 --> 00:07:25.701
And so this is an opportunity to make sure that we can provide the healthcare for communities all across Wisconsin.
00:07:25.711 --> 00:07:31.301
And so based off your income, we will look at what, what you would have to actually pay into this system.
00:07:31.752 --> 00:07:45.411
We're gonna make sure that providers are, again, incentivized to make sure that they can pro- not just pay for the coverage, but they're g- ac- actually getting reimbursed at the minimum at cost, because that's a huge issue for many of our providers.
00:07:45.451 --> 00:08:04.171
Because of this sledgehammer, right, we're seeing not just services decreasing, we're seeing many of our clinics, many of our hospital systems all across the state of Wisconsin actually close or reduce the amount of staff that they have, which means that you're not gonna get the same level of quality service that you've received in the past.
00:08:04.471 --> 00:08:08.512
And so by expanding BadgerCare, we're making sure that no one falls through the cracks.
00:08:08.781 --> 00:08:12.451
But it's also overlaying our no wrong door model of care.
00:08:12.632 --> 00:08:20.322
You know, we wanna make sure that whenever or however you enter the healthcare system, that we wrap around all the other services for you.
00:08:20.591 --> 00:08:33.382
Because if you have to make multiple phone calls or if you have to walk through multiple doors and engage with multiple institutions, you're probably not gonna get the care you need or continue to spend your wills, because you're, you're in dire situation.
00:08:33.772 --> 00:08:37.262
And so we're not just gonna look at health as healthcare, right?
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We wanna take in consideration the social determinants of health.
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Money in your pocket is health.
00:08:43.081 --> 00:08:45.711
Having access to affordable housing is health.
00:08:45.731 --> 00:08:48.532
Transportation, education, all these things.
00:08:48.532 --> 00:08:58.072
But overlaying that with expansion of BadgerCare not just helps out those who are uninsured, but it also helps out those who are in the private-- who also are private pay insurers.
00:08:58.292 --> 00:08:58.302
Mm.
00:08:58.312 --> 00:09:04.711
Because when somebody goes to the-- your emergency room, all of us across the entire system has to pay towards that.
00:09:05.132 --> 00:09:05.412
Yeah.
00:09:05.991 --> 00:09:06.292
Yeah.
00:09:06.792 --> 00:09:16.942
So, you know, how would it work alongside, and you spoke a little bit to this, to, you know, let's say if I have employer insurance or, you know, I have a, a-- I qualify for the ACA marketplace.
00:09:16.942 --> 00:09:19.902
Could people keep their current doctors, people, other doctors?
00:09:19.902 --> 00:09:20.701
Can they keep those?
00:09:21.841 --> 00:09:23.932
We wanna make sure that you can keep your current doctor.
00:09:23.942 --> 00:09:23.971
Okay.
00:09:23.981 --> 00:09:25.402
You can keep your current dentist.
00:09:25.711 --> 00:09:28.121
Uh, but it's also about expanding mental health care.
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And so we're gonna make sure that we have mental health navigators in all 72 counties to make sure you get the care you need.
00:09:34.672 --> 00:09:34.992
Yeah.
00:09:35.232 --> 00:09:38.132
Now, you, you- that's a good point, too, because that's something I underlined.
00:09:38.132 --> 00:09:41.162
You called for mental health navigators in all 72 counties.
00:09:41.201 --> 00:09:48.961
What would a navigator do, let's say, for somebody in crisis, and how would, you know, you measure whether that program is working in the long term?
00:09:50.302 --> 00:09:54.252
Well, you, you have to make sure that you're putting measurements in place.
00:09:54.262 --> 00:10:13.562
You know, as county executive, we were able to strengthen our mental health, uh, excuse me, our mental health system- Yeah working directly with the four large healthcare systems within southeastern Wisconsin, particularly Aurora, uh, Advocate Aurora, Children's Hospital, Froedtert, as well as Ascension, and they actually have a cost-sharing agreement with us.
00:10:13.572 --> 00:10:18.841
So it's not just us as local municipalities sharing the bru- you know, taking on the total cost of that.
00:10:18.852 --> 00:10:21.162
It's the healthcare systems who are with us.
00:10:21.442 --> 00:10:25.822
And by providing mental health navigators, it's about making sure that no one falls through the cracks.
00:10:26.072 --> 00:10:33.102
One, we have to strengthen the broad, uh, broadband infrastructure here in this state- Yeah so people can get access to telehealth.
00:10:33.461 --> 00:10:40.862
Two, we're gonna make sure that we have mobile crisis units working hand-in-hand with law enforcement to show up when there are a crisis.
00:10:41.162 --> 00:10:50.102
But we wanna also focus on how we can be proactive, how people can get access to the mental healthcare and the physical care and the dental and vision care that they need.
00:10:50.402 --> 00:10:55.222
By showing them, by being preventative, we'll show, uh, we'll save a lot more money, uh, long term.
00:10:55.552 --> 00:11:04.002
And so we wanna make sure that you don't have to c- you don't have to change your providers, that you don't have to travel one to three hours away to talk to your doctor of choice.
00:11:04.552 --> 00:11:11.331
We're gonna do that by increasing the reimbursement rates and making sure that you can get that care, again, wherever and whenever you need it.
00:11:11.812 --> 00:11:12.081
Yeah.
00:11:12.492 --> 00:11:22.341
And, you know, we, we've talked about this on this show and a couple other podcasts that I've done, uh, recently, but rural hospitals, especially here in the state of Wisconsin, are facing financial pressures, right?
00:11:22.341 --> 00:11:25.262
Especially as federal Medicaid funding is changing.
00:11:25.532 --> 00:11:28.201
You know, we're all bracing for January 1st.
00:11:28.492 --> 00:11:40.632
What can you do as Wisconsin governor when you get in to keep essential services, including emergency and maternity care, we're facing some maternity healthcare deserts, close to home like you spoke to, right?
00:11:40.632 --> 00:11:43.882
We don't want people to drive an hour or two away for that medical coverage.
00:11:45.556 --> 00:11:48.806
Well, right now we're just talking about, you know, the healthcare system, right?
00:11:48.806 --> 00:11:51.576
The system of how it works within itself.
00:11:51.896 --> 00:12:01.355
But the system cannot work if you don't have a workforce, if you don't have nurses, if you don't have doctors- Yeah if you don't have the support staff that's actually going to be employed to deliver those services.
00:12:01.686 --> 00:12:09.276
And so we have to work with our technical colleges as well as our university systems, and actually connect them to our high schools, right?
00:12:09.296 --> 00:12:14.386
In making sure that we can create that pipeline of healthcare workers here in the state of Wisconsin.
00:12:14.725 --> 00:12:24.946
And, and I also wanna touch on the fact that when we talk about reimbursement rates, we're talking also about home healthcare workers- Yeah who are literally taking care of our most vulnerable populations.
00:12:25.235 --> 00:12:30.235
And so some of those workers, they can't take care of themselves because we have not increased the reimbursement rate.
00:12:30.235 --> 00:12:40.886
And because we still have, you know, a, a, a minimum wage of$7 and 70, uh, 25 cents an hour, we need to up that to$20 an hour to incentivize people to be a part of these systems.
00:12:40.886 --> 00:12:56.636
And so we have to put our money not just where our mouth is, but we also have to leverage our educational institutions all across Wisconsin to make sure that we're pipelining this workforce into the regional healthcare systems so we don't create an imbalance across this state.
00:12:56.656 --> 00:13:02.776
We wanna make sure that all four corners of Wisconsin, anywhere and everywhere in between, that you can get access to that care.
00:13:02.776 --> 00:13:07.605
Because we know that over 20 counties don't even have a practicing OBGYN.
00:13:07.605 --> 00:13:07.985
Yeah.
00:13:07.985 --> 00:13:17.126
And we wanna improve infant, our infant mortality rates, our maternity mortality rates, uh, because right now the state of Wisconsin, we've, we've been do- we haven't been doing great work.
00:13:17.196 --> 00:13:24.536
I'm glad that we were finally able to expand, you know, Medicare, uh, for our, our, our, our, our, our mothers- Mm-hmm that are out there.
00:13:24.546 --> 00:13:24.566
Yeah.
00:13:24.796 --> 00:13:27.235
But we need-- There's more that we need to do.
00:13:27.626 --> 00:13:27.966
Yeah.
00:13:28.216 --> 00:13:28.526
Yeah.
00:13:28.776 --> 00:13:36.056
You know, y- y- David, you've drawn a sharp contrast with your opponent, Tom Tiffany, on Medicaid, ACA tax credits as well.
00:13:36.406 --> 00:13:43.426
Tiffany has even gone as far as describing warnings that we talked about here about rural hospital closures as fear-mongering, right?
00:13:43.806 --> 00:13:47.396
What evidence-- Let's say, you know, you got a voter that's on the fence right now.
00:13:47.396 --> 00:13:55.126
What evidence would you put before that voter, and what would you say to a rural hospital leader worried about the next few years if they can keep the lights on?
00:13:56.402 --> 00:13:58.482
Well, I think the evidence is, is all around us.
00:13:58.482 --> 00:14:06.312
And, you know, while we were actually traveling in the Northwoods, this was one of the biggest issues that are facing rural communities all across Wisconsin.
00:14:06.722 --> 00:14:20.782
And so if, if Congressman Tom Tiffany doesn't believe that, you know, the fact that our hospitals are going to be closing or the$50 million that they're giving away to rural communities in the state of Wisconsin is going to solve the problem, he has another thing coming.
00:14:20.802 --> 00:14:25.752
And he actually needs to actually talk, you know, to his, to his constituents that he represent.
00:14:26.072 --> 00:14:32.892
Unfortunately, you know, I think that he's had his, his head up Trump's butt for so long that he can't hear anything that is around him.
00:14:33.262 --> 00:14:36.542
I mean, he has been lockstep with Trump 100% of the time.
00:14:36.862 --> 00:14:42.642
And while I've been happily married for the past 10 years, I don't even agree with my wife 100% of the time, right?
00:14:43.022 --> 00:14:52.482
But we know how to sit at the table, you know, talk about our differences, and figure out how we reach our goals, and that's what we need right i- in the state of Wisconsin when it comes down to healthcare.
00:14:52.822 --> 00:14:58.622
You know, this is affecting Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and quite frankly, people who don't care about politics.
00:14:58.912 --> 00:15:13.302
And so I would argue that Congressman Tom Tiffany, he needs to stop, you know, jet-setting around this state and focus on talking directly to the people who are hurting the most, because the affordability crisis and the healthcare crisis that we're seeing across this state is real.
00:15:13.892 --> 00:15:14.272
Yeah.
00:15:14.752 --> 00:15:21.192
Well, County Executive Crowley, you know, for Wisconsin residents, just to wrap it up, who have put off visits, right?
00:15:21.222 --> 00:15:23.252
I've seen a couple of them today when I was working.
00:15:23.542 --> 00:15:26.752
Put off a prescription, put off dental care because of cost.
00:15:27.102 --> 00:15:33.862
What is something in closing that you want them to know about your plan and something that you want them to know about your administration in going forward?
00:15:35.472 --> 00:15:39.892
Well, I think that, you know, there's a, there's a very clear choice when it comes down to this race.
00:15:39.922 --> 00:15:45.331
You know, when it comes down to my campaign and who I am, I'm going to be a governor that works for the people of Wisconsin.
00:15:45.692 --> 00:15:50.532
And when you think about Congressman Tom Tiffany, he's going to work for those who is padding his pockets the most.
00:15:50.831 --> 00:15:56.472
When Big Pharma gave him campaign contributions, he voted against lowering prescription drugs.
00:15:56.802 --> 00:16:10.032
When, when he started to receive, uh, billions of do- or millions of dollars in, in, in, in dollars for his campaign, he started to vote for tax breaks for the wealthy, taking money out of hardworking Wisconsinites' pockets.
00:16:10.331 --> 00:16:24.052
And so as we move forward, this is about Wisconsinites, getting you the access to care that you need, lowering your prescription drug prices, and making sure that you can see a future here where you can afford to live, work, play, and continue to be healthy.
00:16:24.331 --> 00:16:32.522
We wanna make the state of Wisconsin the healthiest state in the Midwest come 2035, and we'll do that by making sure that people get access to the care they need.
00:16:33.052 --> 00:16:33.622
That part.
00:16:33.972 --> 00:16:40.412
He is County Executive David Crowley, current Democratic candidate for the office of governor of the state of Wisconsin.
00:16:40.812 --> 00:16:42.091
David, I appreciate you, man.
00:16:42.272 --> 00:16:43.632
Best of luck in going forward, brother.
00:16:44.512 --> 00:16:45.102
Thank you so much.
00:16:45.102 --> 00:16:45.972
Thank you for having me, Dr.
00:16:45.972 --> 00:16:46.262
Ford.
00:16:46.272 --> 00:16:46.591
All right.
00:16:46.752 --> 00:16:47.102
Have a good one.
00:16:47.872 --> 00:16:48.252
Peace.
