‘Quad Carl’ Rolls through Wisconsin to Call for Healthcare Help

There’s a constant whir from his motorized wheelchair as Carl Schulze rolls through Wisconsin. “Quad Carl” as the 44-year-old is known, will be cruising up to the Wisconsin State Capitol, where he plans on calling out lawmakers about healthcare cuts. It will mark the end of a 95-mile ride from Neenah to Madison. But it will not end Schulze’s drive to create awareness and change.  

“This journey is about people,” he says. 

Schulze is a quadriplegic. He is on this mission to spotlight what he calls a crisis in home healthcare access. Schulze believes it is taking a toll on both the people receiving care and those providing it.

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“It is about Medicaid recipients like me, who face waitlists and aide shortages because of underfunded programs like Family Care and IRIS,” he says. “It’s about the home healthcare aides who help us eat, dress, and live with dignity — while earning just $12 to $15 an hour.”

If there is an absence of aides, Schulze shares, people like him are left with few options besides entering a nursing home — which can cost $10,000 a month. 

“Home care programs cost less than half of that,” he explains. “But current policies are failing us. We need leaders of all parties to invest in healthcare, value aides’ work, and reverse these cuts.”

Schulze is also worried about broader healthcare cuts, including larger reductions to Medicaid and Medicare, which he says would devastate people like him.

“Medicare covers most of my doctor visits and my electric wheelchair,” he says. “Medicaid covers my home health aides. If those are cut, I don’t know what will happen.”

And he isn’t afraid to take aim at federal policy. Schulze points out how President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill is projected to cut $1.1 trillion from healthcare. This includes $600 million from Wisconsin’s rural hospitals. It’s just another reason Schulze is trying to make sure his voice is heard.

“For all of the disabled people in America, not just Wisconsin, I feel like I’m able to have a voice. I can speak about it,” he says. “So many people like me are hidden in their homes. Our communities don’t even know we exist.”

His goal is to reach the State Capitol on Friday, August 1. Disability rights groups will be there to greet him. And many plan to help amplify his message to legislators now — and in the future.

Meanwhile, if nothing happens by the next election, Schulze says he will organize efforts across the state — to get voters to the polls in an effort to make a difference there.  

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Watch parts of Schulze’s ride on his YouTube Channel here:

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