GOP leaders holding up major bill that has bipartisan support

Bipartisanship in Wisconsin?  It is happening!

As of Valentine’s Day, there are 23 Senate and 67 Assembly co-sponsors on a bill to extend Medicaid coverage for postpartum mothers from 60 days to a full year after childbirth. Senate Bill 23 would allow for women who qualify to be covered for a year to help address potential health issues that arise during the postpartum period.

For more on this read Emily Tseffos's Recomboulation Area piece.

There are 37 groups — including American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin Inc, Medical College of Wisconsin, American Heart Association, Pro-Life Wisconsin — registered in support of the bill, according to the Wisconsin Lobbying website. No one is registered in opposition. 

Wisconsin and Arkansas are the only states that haven’t extended postpartum Medicaid coverage to 12 months.  This added coverage will save lives. State Representative Lee Snodgrass says, “With wide bipartisan and bicameral support, Wisconsin is without excuse in refusing to pass this lifesaving care expansion for mothers and babies.  Forty-eight other states recognize this.  Wisconsin has a moral imperative to join them.”

So what is the holdup?

Unfortunately, Assembly Republican leadership is blocking this bill.  

“When the clear majority of Wisconsinites, along with a clear majority of their elected representatives, want to pass something good for the people, we should be able to do that,” says State Senator Kris Alfheim. “No individual should stand in the way of a large majority doing the right thing.”

You can help by calling your legislators or Assembly Speaker Robin Vos directly at Rep.Vos@legis.wisconsin.gov.