Board Approves Much Debated Health Travel Program, Once Focused On Abortion

Milwaukee County Courthouse. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

After nearly a year of deliberation, the Milwaukee County Board passed a resolution that would create a medical travel fund for county government employees.

When the board first considered the proposal, the fund was only for costs incurred traveling out of state to access abortion services. But the county’s attorneys told the supervisors that the resolution likely violated state law. The sponsor, Supervisor Ryan Clancy, then expanded the proposal it to reimburse employees for out-of-state travel for any medical procedure or health care.

The resolution would allocate $31,000 to the travel fund to reimburse county employees for travel expenses. There is a maximum of $1,000 annually per employee, or up $2,000 annually for employees with spouses and dependents. The reimbursement would be limited to $50 a day for lodging and 22 cents a mile for gas.

The original intent of the proposal has, to a certain degree, been rendered moot. “Two state courts have ruled that the 1859 law does not actually prohibit abortion period, full stop,” Milwaukee County Corporation Counsel Margaret Daun told supervisors. “So, as of right now, abortion is legal in the state of Wisconsin, and it continues to be provided.”

Clancy said the proposal would still make health care more accessible. “It’s a solid policy regardless of the status of judicial opinions and state legislation,” he said.

Sup. Deanna Alexander spoke in opposition to the resolution, saying the fund, which is structured as a Healthcare Reimbursement Account or HRA, would amount to “a cash payment” on top of the benefits already budgeted for county employees.

Other supervisors expressed opposition to the resolution because of its history as a proposal to subsidize travel out of state for abortions.

Sup. Felesia Martin said she supports a woman’s right to choose whether she wants an abortion or not, but did not support using taxpayer funding to pay for travel costs associated with it.

The funding that would be allocated will only be spent if employees use the fund, Sup. Shawn Rolland noted, adding that he thinks the $31,000 earmarked for the fund was an “affordable amount of money.” Rolland also said that the latest resolution represented a compromise between Clancy’s initial legislation and the concerns about legality.

“I mean, we all probably know somebody who, probably multiple somebodies, who have spent some time at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota,” Rolland said.

“Is it first come, first serve?” Sup. Sheldon Wasserman asked. “I mean, the first person who gets sick is the one who gets the money for the $31,000?”

Clancy said the limits on per-day lodging and mileage reimbursement make the funding “unlikely to be exhausted.”

The resolution was ultimately passed by the board on a 12-6 vote, with supervisors Alexander, Martin, Patti Logsdon, Tony Staskunas, Steve Taylor and Kathleen Vincent voting in opposition.