The following program is a PBS Wisconsin original
production. >> After a whopping victory,
an investiture. Judge Susan Crawford sworn in as justice
on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. And a final audit of
the just passed state budget shows a billion and a half
dollars in tax cuts, along with spending hikes.
[MUSIC] I'm Frederica Freyberg.
Tonight on "Here& Now" a veterans housing and
recovery program at risk. Our political panelists give
their take on a toss up governor's election. And we
continue our series Rx Uncovered looking at a
prescription coupon that leaves some paying more.
It's "Here& Now" for August 1st.
>> Funding for here and Now is provided by the Focus
Fund for Journalism and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.
>> First tonight, more than 350 military veterans are
homeless in Wisconsin. According to the latest
estimates, some are getting a fresh start through the
Veterans Housing and Recovery Program, which
offers job training and support for addiction. But
the program is now at risk after falling short of the
funding it needed in the new state budget. That's a
concern for the veterans who rely on these services
today, and for those who will need them in the
future. But as "Here& Now", reporter Steven Potter tells
us, there are hopes new bipartisan legislation could
restore funding and keep the program running.
>> It's like I developed all these bad habits with my
anger and drinking, and I ended up in a shelter again.
>> Michael Cable is a veteran of the United States
Navy. He's also been homeless many times first as
a child, then as a young adult. And then he became
homeless again after leaving the Navy in 2010.
>> Came back. I was a full blown alcoholic and anger.
Just couldn't deal with my emotions at all.
>> Struggling to deal with life after the military.
>> You come back and it's like your life's gone.
Everything's changed. >> He knew something drastic
needed to happen. And it did.
>> Once I got sober, I felt so much different about
everything. I used to dream about everything all the
time. And now I was actually doing things, working
towards those dreams. >> What changed is that
Michael was accepted into the state's veterans Housing
and Recovery Program at the Chippewa Falls location,
known as Klein Hall. Graduating from that program
in May, he got hired at a local plastics factory. And
then all of his hard work paid off. As this formerly
homeless veteran became a homeowner.
>> I literally bought the first house I seen. I gave
him a full price offer and moved in, and I. Every day
I'm just standing there like, I can't believe it.
It's amazing. >> Since opening in 2007,
Klein Hall has helped roughly 1000 of Wisconsin's
homeless and at risk military veterans find their
footing and eventually secure permanent housing.
And while Michael is one of the success stories, he
could also be one of the last veterans to use the
Transitional housing and Recovery program due to a
lack of funding in the new state budget. Klein Hall in
Chippewa Falls and another similar location in green
Bay are slated to close their doors at the end of
September. >> We were really saddened
and disappointed with the budgetary decisions. It's a
horrible situation. >> The Veterans Housing and
Recovery Program is run by the Wisconsin Department of
Veterans Affairs. Out of three locations. Assistant
Deputy Director Joey Hoey says they now only have
enough money to keep one site open.
>> So we made some very difficult and agonizing
decisions. We've decided that we're going to focus
our efforts on one of the three sites. It's in Union
Grove down by Milwaukee. >> Politically, Democratic
Governor Tony Evers has blasted Republicans in
control of the state budget writing committee. In a
statement, Evers said, quote, there will now be
fewer options for homeless veterans as a result of the
legislature's irresponsible decision to reject the
investments that I proposed. Joint Finance Committee
Chairman Senator Howard Marklein and Representative
Mark Born responded by saying the governor failed
to make this program a funding priority during
budget negotiations. And they added that the governor
was, quote, looking for a scapegoat to blame for his
administration's failure to adequately manage the
changes to the program volume and demands.
>> Who cares? Who cares whose fault it is? That
doesn't help the problem. >> For veterans like Derek
Aune, who first heard about it in prison. This program
is not only transitional, but it can also be
transformative. >> I'm learning all the time
about this mental health stuff is I do not do regular
life well, but I know that if I want to stay out of
prison, then I have to be willing to do stuff like
this because it's the best way for me to keep myself
like in the right frame of mind.
>> Discharged from the Marines 20 years ago.
Derrick has been homeless several times over the years
at Klein Hall. He says he's found stability and he's
been allowed to keep his emotional support animal, a
friendly, attentive, husky mix named Phoenix, with him.
He appreciates that the program here is built
specifically and only for veterans.
>> That makes a big difference. And you'll hear
that from almost every veteran across the board.
With any situation, whether it's treatment or groups or
whatever. There it is a different feeling when
you're amongst other veterans.
>> Randy Withrow is the Klein Hall site director for
Lutheran Social Services, which contracts with
government veterans affairs agencies to manage the
program. >> Nobody's homeless because
they don't have shelter. It is a myriad of things that
occur in their lives, whether it be legal, mental
health, substance abuse, financial that leads them to
homelessness. And part of our job is to make sure that
we shore up those areas so that then when they become
either renters or owners, that they have the skills
and the ability to handle that day to day living that
you and I may take for granted.
>> Veterans stay in the program for a maximum of two
years and participate in employment and education
training. They receive meals and transportation
assistance and are also required to maintain
absolute sobriety. Program staff members are working to
place veterans currently in the program in other housing
initiatives, or to move them to the Union Grove location
that's staying open. But there is concern that if too
much changes, some veterans will end up back on the
streets. >> Change is not something
that they necessarily experience well, and now
they've got to go and meet a new group and interact and
integrate into something that's different.
>> Veterans affairs officials say there is still
hope that the two housing program locations, scheduled
to close in September, could be saved if new funding is
secured soon and there is legislation being circulated
at the state Capitol to do just that.
>> If we were to get funding, we could quickly
restart the program. >> With two of the three
locations closing. The overall program will shrink
considerably from more than 100 beds total to just 40
beds at the Union Grove location, veterans say
keeping the program running is a necessity.
>> These kind of things are pivotal. If you don't want
to have people rolling back through the system over and
over and over again. >> Just having a place where
you can catch your breath and really get back your
sanity doesn't take much. Just a place to stay. Some
food and a counselor. Someone cares. Someone you
talk to, life changing. These guys are grateful for
every bit of it. >> Reporting from Chippewa
Falls. I'm Steven Potter for "Here& Now".
>> With Democratic Governor Tony Evers announcement that
he will not run for a third term, the November 2026
election for governor is wide open, and already
candidates are lining up on the Republican side.
Whitefish Bay businessman Bill Berrian and Washington
County Executive Josh Shewman have entered the
race. Democratic Lieutenant Governor Sarah Rodriguez is
also formally declared. Now, there are a whole lot more
names potentially throwing their hat in the ring. For
more on this, we turn to our political panelists,
Republican Bill McCoshen and Democrat Scot Ross. Nice to
see you both again. >> Great to be with you. So
good to be here. >> Bill, what kind of
opportunity is this for Republicans?
the second time in my 60 years on this earth where
we've had an open gubernatorial seat. 2010 was
the last time Scott Walker beat Milwaukee Mayor Tom
Barrett. So the fact that it's an open seat is an
opportunity for Republicans to actually win here, both
of the national prognosticators, whether
it's the Cook Political Report or Larry Sabato's
Crystal ball, moved this race from lean Democrat as
soon as Tony Evers made his announcement to toss up. So
it's an opportunity for the Republicans to potentially
take back the governorship in 2026 here in the state of
Wisconsin. toss up kind of status, how
would policymaking change if, in fact, a Republican
were to win? >> Well, I mean, obviously,
if the Republican Party, which is wholly controlled
by Donald Trump, were to win the gubernatorial election
and Democrats not pick up either of the chambers, it
would be the most radical, extreme. Partisan handout to
special interests and corporate and the wealthy
that we've ever seen in the history of Wisconsin. But I
think that you have to look beyond, you know, the sort
of toss up numbers when it comes to the Cooke. Yeah. On
on you know, if you look at it on face Wisconsin, you
know, goes back and forth. But if you look at the real
numbers and where the Republican Party is right
now, you know, if you're not Donald Trump, the party has
Wisconsin voters have elections. Election after
election after election. And we I think we've only had
two of any consequence that have gone Republican in the
last like 15 years. Ron Johnson, of course, who got
in there because, you know, the D triple DS abandoned
Mandela Barnes and he was racist third party ads. And,
and, and the Supreme Court race where they just, you
know, they were Democrats quite didn't quite, hadn't
quite figured out how to lock up those races yet. Now
it's a completely different universe. And the Republican
Party, with Donald Trump in full control of the
government, isn't getting more open for isn't getting
more accommodating for swing voters?
>> Bill, as to the Washington influence,
seventh Congressional District Republican Tom
Tiffany has been talking about running for a long
time. What's he waiting for? >> He says he's going to
make a decision sometime around Labor Day. I hope he
does it sooner than that. There are several
congresspeople in in the House now that are running
for governor and different states. Byron Donalds being
at the top of the list in Florida. I think the
president's a little concerned about that,
House, the GOP majority in the House, is so slim to
begin with. So I don't know if Tom Tiffany is going to
get in if he's got a lot of strong suits, for sure, but
is fundraising. He's got $125,000 cash on hand, which
today and Scott would agree. That's a good assembly race.
That's not a gubernatorial race. So fundraising is his
biggest shortcoming. We'll see if he gets in. At the
end of the day, where Scott and I actually do agree,
Donald Trump's going to pick the winner of this primary,
whoever he endorses in this primary will win the race
for sure. On our side. >> Who else are Republicans
looking at, Bill? I mean, there's there is a long list
of people out there. >> Well, other names that
are being bandied about are State Senator Mary
Felzkowski, who comes from roughly the same geography
as Tom Tiffany. She represents the 12th Senate
district up north. If she won't get in, if Tiffany
does get in. But if Tiffany doesn't get in, I would
expect to see her join the race. You might remember she
voted against the state budget. She's the first
Senate president to ever vote against a state budget.
Eric Hovde name still gets talked about, and I think
there's a player to be named later again, because it's an
open seat. It's a real opportunity. So I think
there's probably somebody on our side that people aren't
talking about yet who could get in this race. Remember,
we got 375 days between now and the August 11th, 2026
primary. >> I'm sorry. I just want to
say, like, I think the reason, you know, part of
the part of the challenge is the Republicans have, in
contrast to the Democrats, is that they're two
Republicans have no experience. I mean, you
know, you know, God bless Washington County, but it's
not even one of the top ten largest counties in
Wisconsin. Whereas on the very long list of people
with credentials who have delivered for the people of
Wisconsin, starting with the gotten $750 million back
from opioid settlements, something that the previous
Republican administration and previous Republican
attorney general refused to allow us to get. You've got
the county executive in the state's largest county.
David Crowley, you've got state Senator Kelda Roys,
who's, you know, who's on the Joint Finance Committee
and who's run a couple times before. You know, there's a
long list of people with real credentials about doing
the things that mention was Ben Wikler,
former party chairman. than Ben Wikler. He is the
best fundraiser on their side or our side. So if he
decides to get in, he'll be formidable.
Scott? >> Oh, absolutely. Yes. I
mean, Ben's a great guy who's traveled around the
state doing the rubber chicken circuit, you know,
for years. I mean, it's a reason why a lot of us
thought in 2022 that Rebecca Kleefisch was going to be
the nominee for the Republicans, but the
they don't want to have a woman at the top of the
ticket. So they went with an out of state businessman who
lost. status of the governor's
race. How much confidence, though, does the most recent
ten point victory of Justice, Susan Crawford,
give Dems? >> Well, there are two
different races, but it also shows that Democrats are
able to have been able to mobilize their voters in a
way that Republicans simply have not been able to do for
a very, very long time. Again, they've lost. They've
won a couple statewide elections. But the margins,
percentage wise and number wise, are so much more
narrow than the blowouts that the Democrats have been
able to do, because, again, they're talking about the
They want to make sure that people are protected. They
want to make sure that abortion rights are
some cases, you know, they want to make sure that when
you go into court that you have your day in court and
it's not balanced towards different to what the agenda
of the of the Republicans are most embodied by the
fact that, you know, we've got this big bad bill which
is now going to bankrupt, you know, the country, you
know, kicked 270,000 Wisconsinites off of their
health care, you know, snatch snap benefits, you
know, literally take the, the, the food out of out of
babies and children. That's the agenda of the
Republicans. And Democrats and contrast with what we're
trying to do. >> I wanted to just jump to
the next Supreme Court election. And have you
described the stakes of that?
>> Well, we have Rebecca Bradley, who hasn't decided
whether she's going to seek reelection or not on her
most recent finance report. She hadn't raised any money.
My advice to her is, if you're not going to run, get
out and give people time to raise money. I think one of
the dynamics that there's a relationship between the two
races, I don't think the Supreme Court race is going
to be as hotly contested as the last two were. I don't
think it will be a $100 million race because it
isn't for the majority. I race, now that it's an open
seat, will be the political Super. Bowl in Wisconsin in
2026. appeals court Judge Chris
Taylor is running for Supreme Court. How
formidable is she? >> I think she's an
incredibly formidable candidate and has built her
career on protecting the rights of people in
Wisconsin. You know, whether it is for living with
dignity or abortion rights or whatever, you know, just
that's the that's the that is the profile profile that
she has, the record that she has. And especially as a
judge. And you know, that contrast, again, with
Rebecca Bradley, who was one of the most divisive, one of
the most noxious elected officials that we've had in
the history of the state of Wisconsin. And I think, you
know, for her, what's you know, the problem is, if
she's waiting for a federal incentive to taking out the
incumbent from a judicial race when, by and large,
over decades? And Bill agree with this, the incumbent
wins almost used to be unheard of, that almost 100%
judicial candidate wouldn't win. Yeah.
>> All right. We need to leave it there. But really
nice to see you both again. We'll have you on more now
that we're heating up into this next election cycle.
Thank you. >> Thanks.
>> Great to be with you. >> Leftover money from the
RNC in Milwaukee brings welcome news for nonprofits
in the city. The Milwaukee 2024 Host Committee
announced this week a $5 million donation to multiple
local charities. That money comes from the remaining
funds that were raised to support last summer's
Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. The
donations will go to organizations that focus on
youth, veterans and shelters like Sober living and
halfway houses. Turning to health care, we continue our
coverage of prescription drugs as drug prices for
patients go up, health insurance coverage of them
goes down. In our series Rx Uncovered Here and Now,
producer Marissa Wojcik unpacks why this is
happening and the impact it's having on patients. In
tonight's story, we look at how health plans use
accumulators to divert financial aid away from
patients in need. >> I couldn't believe what I
found out when this happened. I couldn't believe
it was legal. >> Tamra Varebrook lives
conditions. She can still live her life as long as she
has her medication. >> I changed jobs and
started over with a new copay and new deductible.
That's when this hit me, I wasn't getting my
medications. And you know, I thought, what? Why aren't
you sending them? They're like, well, you have a
$6,000 balance. I had my first experience with copay
accumulators. I had never even heard of him.
>> A copay accumulator sounds like an obscure
insurance term, and it is. >> And I know people don't
understand this. If this doesn't directly affect
them. >> It's also a growing trend
among health plans for Tamara's conditions. Her
medication costs her the equivalent of buying a car
every year. >> Right now, I take the
entire prior year to save up, to try to have enough to
buy my drug in January. It's ridiculously expensive, but
it's the thing that makes me be able to walk in my arms,
bend and, you know, keep, you know, my joints moving
so I don't end up in a wheelchair.
>> To afford her drugs, her doctors told her about
patient assistance programs. It's often the drug
manufacturer helping the patient to afford their own
high priced medication. This kind of financial assistance
is referred to as a copay, coupon or copay card.
>> That were meant to help the patients get their drugs
and pay down their deductibles, pay down their,
you know, on their out-of-pocket maximums.
>> Here's how they work a patient is prescribed an
expensive name brand drug that doesn't have a generic.
Their health plan has a high deductible and out-of-pocket
maximum, which they must meet before the plan will
cover the drug. The copay card provides the financial
assistance to cover the patient's deductible and
out-of-pocket max. When those are met, the health
plan kicks in and covers all or part of the cost that
remains of the drug, potentially saving the
patient thousands of dollars.
>> It was a life changer. I was, you know, pretty low
income at the time when a lot of my medical issues
started and I would never have been able to afford
these medications. >> One day, she realized she
wasn't receiving the life changing assistance or her
medication. Tamara was blindsided.
>> They weren't shipping it. And so I kept calling and
saying, well, why isn't this shipping there? Like, you
owe $6,000. And I'm like, what do you mean I owe
$6,000? >> The drug company had
provided the copay card. >> I've already gotten this.
And you know, it should be my deductible. At least
should be covered. >> The problem was the
financial assistance no longer covered her. The
pharmacy told her. >> If you don't pay for it
in full, you are not getting your medication. And I went
months without. >> Tamara had recently
started a new job where her health plan contained a
copay, accumulator. >> I spent countless hours
on phone calls. I can't even tell you how upsetting it
was. >> The accumulator is a
relatively new tool used by health plans and pharmacy
benefit managers. A copay accumulator takes the
financial assistance, the copay card, and only applies
it to the total cost of the drug. It does not count
towards the patient's deductible or out of pocket
maximum. In other words, the patient no longer saves
money. The health plan saves money by taking the full
amount of the copay card and still collecting the
deductible and out-of-pocket maximum paid by the patient.
>> This is a very scary moment for me, just knowing
a lot of other people with Mis.
>> Jim Turk has multiple sclerosis or Ms, a disease
that attacks the body's nerves. There's no cure,
only treatment. >> If you're on drugs, I
mean, that's your lifeline. That's something that's
preventing that, or at least slowing that down
significantly from happening. So they don't
have as much stress in their life either. And the stress
in their life can also exacerbate the symptoms. So
it's just this vicious circle.
>> He's an advocate for people with Ms. Knowing the
struggles firsthand. >> I look at a list to see
what all the drugs cost. Ocrevus the one that I was
on last, which was actually the newer drug, was one of
the cheaper drugs. And that was, I think, 70 or $80,000
a year, which I can't afford. I'm on disability.
>> Having been the recipient of copay cards. He stresses
their importance for patients to survive.
>> You have to make the choice between paying for
your drugs. That might be a lifesaver or paying for
groceries. And obviously, there's no choice there. Or
paying for rent. And that's really what it comes down
to. >> And a copay accumulator.
>> They're essentially designed to be confusing.
>> Makes that choice even harder.
>> I thought, Holy cow. Well, in 21 states it is now
illegal, but not Wisconsin. >> Other states have
outlawed accumulators, and a bill currently in
Wisconsin's legislature would as well. At a hearing,
health plans and pharmacy benefit managers spoke in
opposition. control the soaring prices
of prescription drugs set by pharmaceutical
manufacturers, but instead rewards drug makers for
steering patients towards more expensive brand name
drugs. a ploy by pharmaceutical
companies to get patients to take expensive name brand
drugs. >> Rather than benefiting
those in financial need. A lot of these coupons from
manufacturers act as an inducement to move to higher
cost products. >> Supporters of
accumulators say they lower costs by saving health plans
money, not just one patient, but others refuted these
claims. assistance programs from
manufacturers are for drugs with no generic
alternatives. The copay assistance increases
medication adherence. Studies have found that
morbidity and mortality associated with poor
medication adherence cost the US healthcare system
$528 billion annual Nonadherence can lead to
treatment failure, resulting in poor outcomes such as
worsening of condition, admission to the emergency
room and hospitalization, and requiring new
prescriptions to treat subsequent comorbidities,
which results in higher cost to the entire health care
system. That is what will increase premiums.
>> This rings true for Tamra.
>> The specific drug is not the only cost of chronic
disease. Chronic disease causes people to miss work,
end up in emergency rooms, hospital bills.
>> Drug manufacturers do not like accumulators because
the assistance doesn't go to help the patient. She fears
they may end up not providing the assistance at
all. >> I'm afraid that the
pharmaceutical companies stop the programs because
they're not helping the patients, and that would be
a real nightmare because then everybody would suffer.
This is where we're at in Wisconsin now, and I feel
bad for everybody who has a child or, you know, any
adult that runs into these issues because most people
are not prepared with that kind of money, and you
aren't going to get your medication.
>> Reporting from Germantown I'm Marisa Wojcik for "Here&
Now". >> For more on this and
other issues facing Wisconsin, visit our website
at PBS Wisconsin. Org and then click on the news tab.
That's our program for tonight. I'm Frederica
Freyberg. Before we go, I'd like to acknowledge and say
goodbye to one of our reporters. Aditi Debnath
joined us in 2023. She's been a great asset. Now
she's on the move. Today is her last day at PBS
Wisconsin. We wish her all the best. Have a good
weekend. [MUSIC]
>> Funding for here and Now is provided by the Focus
Fund for Journalism and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.