The Wisconsin Senate Approved Extending Medicaid Coverage for Moms. Will It Get a Vote in the Assembly?

MADISON, Wis. (WMDX) – The Wisconsin Senate has passed a bill that would expand Medicaid coverage for postpartum moms. They’ve done this before, and the bill ended up going nowhere without a vote in the Assembly. 

What would this bill do?

The bill would give women Medicaid coverage for an entire year after giving birth. Currently in Wisconsin, women get 60 days of Medicaid coverage after giving birth. 

All over the country, moms get this yearlong coverage. Arkansas and Wisconsin are the only two exceptions. Experts and advocates have testified that this coverage saves lives. 

How many new moms die in Wisconsin, and how many are on Medicaid?

From 2019 to 2021, Wisconsin had a 30% increase in deaths among pregnant and postpartum women. That’s according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. 

“63 [Wisconsin] moms died with pregnancy-related issues from 2020 to 2022,” Sen. Melissa Ratcliff (D-Cottage Grove) said on the Senate floor Tuesday. “One third of those deaths occurred more than 60 days postpartum. So 21 moms died because they didn’t have access to the care that they needed.” 

Of those 63 women who died, 76% of them were on Medicaid at the time their babies were born. That’s according to the DHS Legislative Director. 

Historically, Wisconsin has had some of the worst maternal mortality rates for Black women in the nation.

The state Senate passed the bill Tuesday with a 32-1 vote. The only vote against was from Sen. Chris Kapenga (R-Delafield). 

The Wisconsin Senate passed a similar bill last session with the same margin. The bill has broad bipartisan support in both the Senate and the Assembly. 

If it has bipartisan support, why hasn’t it passed the full Legislature?

A bill can’t pass if it’s not called for a vote. And it can’t be called for a vote unless the Speaker says so. 

Speaker Robin Vos has said he doesn’t support the measure. 

“My position’s been fairly clear from the very beginning, I’d never support an expansion of welfare, I can’t imagine that I would ever support one,” Vos said at a press conference Tuesday before the Senate voted on the bill. “But we’d have to talk about it as a caucus, see where everybody else is.” 

How much would it cost?

The expansion would cost $18.5 million. That’s according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Wisconsin currently has a surplus of more than $4.6 billion. 

It would actually be less expensive if Wisconsin joined the 40 other states that have joined the Medicaid expansion. That expansion would allow more low-income people to qualify for Medicaid, and states would pay for a smaller share.

If Wisconsin accepted Medicaid expansion, it would cost the state about $15 million.

Wisconsin currently has a surplus of more than $4.6 billion.