'Critical': GOP rep asks Dem gov to act 'without delay' to save hospitals from Trump bill

One Republican member of the House of Representatives who is voting in favor of President Donald Trump's massive budget bill is now asking his state's Democratic governor to take swift action to protect his state's hospitals.

On Wednesday, WISN 12 News Milwaukee political director Matt Smith tweeted a letter that Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) sent to Governor Tony Evers (D) urging him to move quickly to sign the state's budget ahead of Trump signing H.R. 1 ("The One Big Beautiful Bill Act") into law, should it pass the House. According to Van Orden, Evers' signature is necessary to save the Badger State's hospitals from a potentially massive financial blow.

"I cannot emphasize the importance of signing the proposed state budget into law without delay," Van Orden wrote in the letter. "As you are aware, timely enactment is especially critical this year due to the proposed increase in the state provider tax, which must be effectuated before the anticipated signing of the One, Big Beautiful Bill on or around July 4, 2025."

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The Senate's version of H.R. 1 — which Trump has asked the House to pass without making any additional changes in order to get it to his desk by a self-imposed July 4 deadline – would put a cap on the amount of money individual states can request through "assessment rates," or fees that allow hospitals to recoup matching Medicaid funds from the federal government. According to Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR), that cap could cost Wisconsin hospitals alone roughly $1.5 billion.

"Currently, Wisconsin’s assessment rate is at 1.8 percent. This budget proposal being debated on Wednesday would raise that to the federal maximum of 6 percent," wrote WPR's Anya Van Wagtendonk. "If the federal budget act is signed before Wisconsin lawmakers approve the state’s budget, Wisconsin would be unable to raise its hospital assessment fee."

The $111 biennial Wisconsin budget has not yet reached Gov. Evers' desk. Lawmakers are currently debating the 421-page document. Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R) said the legislature is "working really fast to get it done," acknowledging the tight deadline of Trump potentially signing H.R. 1 into law on Friday.

Aside from the extra money for hospitals, many rural hospitals are at risk of closure if the Republican budget bill is signed into law. According to the University of North Carolina's Sheps Center for Health Services Research, more than 300 rural hospitals across the country could close, including three in Wisconsin.

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