Wisconsin will become the 49th state to extend postpartum Medicaid after the Assembly passed the bill on Feb. 26.
The bill, which Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, previously held from the floor for years despite passing nearly unanimously in the Senate last fall, would allow low-income mothers to stay on public health insurance coverage up to 12 months after giving birth.
The extension passed the Assembly almost unanimously alongside “Gail’s Law,” a bill expanding life-saving access to breast cancer screenings. The bill was named in honor Gail Zeemer, a Wisconsin mother who advocated for the bill before her death from breast cancer in 2024.
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle said the bills are crucial for Wisconsin women.
Young, low-income and women of color are most at risk of postpartum complications. In Wisconsin, Black women are five times more susceptible to pregnancy-related mortality than white women. In the United States — which has the highest infant mortality rate among developed countries — more than 50% of pregnancy-related deaths occur between one week and one year postpartum.
Sen. Jesse James, R-Thorp, told the Cardinal he has been lobbying Vos to pass the bill for months.
“With the hang up being in the Assembly, it really came down to having these conversations with primarily the speaker, continuing these conversations [every time I saw] him saying, ‘Okay, Mr. Speaker, where are we at on this?’” James said.
James also emphasized his “tag-team” partner, Children and Families Committee Chair Rep. Patrick Snyder, R-Weston, in helping push Vos.
“A strong family means a strong Wisconsin,” Snyder told the Cardinal, saying he would not run again if the bill did not pass.
“[Vos] thinks it’s an expansion of Medicaid. I say it’s just extending it,” Snyder said. “It finally came down to this last February. ‘I said, tell you what. I’ll run [for office] one more time if you pass postpartum,’ and he said at the time, ‘you’re more important than the bill, but it might not be real fast.’”
Despite Vos’ opposition, the legislation garnered massive bipartisan support, with 99 of the legislature’s 132 members either cosponsoring or backing the bill. Democratic lawmakers expressed early interest in the bill, but it took longer to gain Republican support. After the bill gained support from 50 Republican representatives it was able to advance.
“What bothered me the most is the Republican Party is supposed to be the party of pro-life, and [in Wisconsin] we’re really not doing that,” James said. “We’re not taking care of our families that are having babies and the moms that qualify for Medicaid [that] should be rightfully taken care of. I mean, it just makes sense right?”
Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, argued Vos’ acceptance of the bill comes at a time when Republicans need bipartisan support, adding that she believes he finally allowed a floor vote to give some “vulnerable members of his caucus something to help them win reelection.”
Lawmakers from both parties stressed the importance of working together for their constituents.
“Everybody that was a part of this, we did it for Wisconsin, and it doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican [or] Democrat,” James said. “When we have healthy moms in Wisconsin, we have healthy babies… we have a healthy future and healthy families.”
