Allison Geyer
A staffer for Ron Johnson tells demonstrators not to worry. “You have health care. You can go to the hospital.”
In the small, stuffy waiting room outside U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson’s Oshkosh office, Jane Newton is filling out a comment form that she hopes will reach the desk of the second-term Republican. This isn’t the first time she’s reached out to her representative — she’s called, emailed and sent letters urging Johnson not to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
“When I call, his mailbox is always full. I’ve written three whole pages but never get a response. It’s just sad,” says Newton, who lives in a small village in Fond du Lac County. “How else am I supposed to talk to my senator?”
Newton isn’t the only one frustrated. About 20 activists from all over the state joined her on July 6 for a daylong sit-in at Johnson’s office to show their opposition to the Republican-led effort to dismantle Obamacare. Johnson, a small-government conservative who reveres the free market, is no fan of the landmark 2010 health care overhaul. But he’s also voiced his opposition to the GOP replacement — because, like Obamacare, it relies on government funding. In a way, Johnson and the demonstrators blockading the entryway to his office are on the same side — albeit for vastly different reasons.
Kathleen McLaughlin-Hoppe, a member of Indivisible Stoughton (a local branch of the national group launched in response to President Donald Trump), organized the protest, which was held in conjunction with dozens of other sit-ins at senators’ offices around the country. She’s a mother of eight children — two of whom have rare medical diagnoses.
“If I can’t get insurance through the ACA, myself and my children will be among the tens of thousands of people who won’t be able to afford health care,” she says, holding a poster decorated with photos of her children. “I don’t know how much our medications would cost, because I’m afraid to look.”
Newton finishes her comment form and slides it under the glass partition that separates Johnson’s office from the vestibule, where it joins a stack of other letters waiting to be read. There’s nobody behind the reception desk, but the demonstrators aren’t going anywhere. Katie Van Zeeland of Appleton hopes she’ll be able to talk to one of Johnson’s staffers about her concerns over what the ACA repeal might mean for her 4-year-old son, Max, who has autism. “I’ve never protested anything before,” Van Zeeland says, her eyes welling up with tears. “I just want to talk to someone.”
Max needs 40 hours per week of therapy, which he gets in school via special education. But that service is funded by Medicaid. The GOP health care bill drafted by the House, the American Health Care Act, proposes cutting Medicaid by $880 billion over 10 years and imposing a “per-capita cap” on funding for certain groups of people, including children. “It’s just cruel,” she says. The legislation drafted by the Senate, the Better Care Reconciliation Act, calls for a slightly smaller reduction of $772 billion to Medicaid. Both proposals cut taxes by about $1 trillion.
By midmorning, the lobby is sweltering. A Johnson staffer cracks open the door. “People need to get out and go to the bathroom,” he says to those blocking the entryway.
“We need health care,” says David Fawcett, a teacher from Madison who drove to Oshkosh for the protest.
“You have health care,” the staffer shoots back. “You can go to the hospital.” (Public hospitals cannot legally refuse care.)
The staffer shuts the door. This comment does not sit well with the protesters, who launch into an impromptu airing of grievances, railing against medical bankruptcy, the insurance industry, pharmaceutical lobbying and a health care system that prioritizes profits over patient care.
“When is the tipping point?” asks Lisa Gehrke of Neenah. “Americans are treated worse than citizens of any other civilized nation.”
As the afternoon wears on, the demonstrators stay camped in the lobby, sharing snacks and water and occasionally breaking into songs like the union anthem “Solidarity Forever,” and “Do You Hear the People Sing” from the musical Les Miserables. They are prepared to stay the night and risk arrest, but at around 4:30 p.m. news breaks that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell acknowledges that the repeal is in danger of failing.
“I think the nationwide sit-ins were the nail in the coffin,” McLaughlin-Hoppe says after the demonstration. “Hearing that news was a happy moment, and a bit of a shock, honestly. It really was the best outcome.”
Johnson’s Oshkosh office declined to comment, referring questions to the Washington, D.C., office, where a message from Isthmus went unreturned.
Number of people who gained insurance through Obamacare: 20 million
Wisconsinites who enrolled in Obamacare this year: 242,863
Amount Senate proposal is projected to decrease federal deficit by: $321 billion over a decade
Number of people expected to lose insurance by 2026 under Senate proposal: 22 million
Average tax cut for households making $28,000 or less under Senate proposal: $180
Average tax cut for households making $5 million or more: $250,000
