Manufactured Crisis: How Trump and Republicans Broke Wisconsin’s Health Care

Over 275,000 Wisconsinites are on track to lose their health care coverage. Premiums have more than doubled overnight. Hospitals are closing. And it didn't happen by accident.

In this episode, I'm joined by Brad Woodhouse, President of Protect Our Care, and Wisconsin political strategist Joe Zepecki to break down the findings of a devastating new report: Health Care in Crisis: Trump and Republicans Are Making Health Care Unaffordable for Wisconsinites.

We get into all of it — the $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts, the ACA tax credits that were allowed to expire, the eight Wisconsin hospitals and clinics already closed or at risk, the 60-year-old couple now spending nearly 37% of their income on health insurance, and the pharmaceutical companies that defied the president's own requests and raised prices anyway — while posting $177 billion in profits.

This is what a manufactured crisis looks like. And these are the people responsible for it.

In this episode:
Who is losing coverage and why
What the Medicaid cuts actually mean for Wisconsin families, kids, and rural communities
Why hospitals are closing — and what happens when they do
How Big Pharma is cashing in while seniors pay more
What accountability looks like from here

📄 Read the full report:
https://defendamericaaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/DAA-WI-Health-Care-Affordability-Report-June-2026.pdf

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Dr. Kristin Lyerly is an OB-GYN based in northeast Wisconsin and a leading voice on healthcare, politics, and the issues shaping our collective future. As the named physician plaintiff in a landmark Wisconsin abortion decision, she brings a perspective to these conversations that goes beyond politics. New episodes drop every week. Subscribe to stay current on reproductive rights, health politics, all things Wisconsin, and everything else that matters.

Producer: Abraham Lyerly
Music: Nic Tierman
Graphics: Nathaniel Gonzalez