Eau Claire Residents Share Affordability Concerns in Roundtable

State Senator Jeff Smith and Opportunity Wisconsin hosted a roundtable discussion for Eau Claire area residents this week.

Residents attending the roundtable at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library in Eau Claire shared affordability concerns across a wide range of issues, including healthcare, assistance for veterans, and education. Senator Smith also shared his perspective on those issues, noting that housing and childcare are two of the most common things constituents contact his office about.

“Housing affordability has been top of mind,” he said. “Childcare, the ability to find childcare and then to afford childcare, is going to have great impact by Fall when kids go back to school because the funding that we were providing through grants is coming to an end at the end of June.”

Senator Smith also spoke about the ongoing healthcare crisis in the Chippewa Valley following the closure of the HSHS hospitals two years ago. Inadequate labor and delivery services has been commonly cited as one of the most challenging needs to address without those hospitals. Since their closure, residents have been forced to travel significant distances to get the healthcare they need.

“When we talk about healthcare, you know, it’s only getting worse,” he said. “And you’ve got corporations running our hospitals who close them when they can’t make profit. Why do people have to go so far to give birth? Because that’s not a very profitable business.”

Newly planned hospitals will begin opening in the Chippewa Valley throughout the rest of the year, which should bring some relief in access to healthcare. Changes to Medicaid at the federal level, however, have started to force some residents to consider going without health insurance at all. Those residents often avoid preventative healthcare visits to save money now, risking more severe health emergencies in the future.