Fox Valley lawmakers react to stalled postpartum Medicaid bill in Wisconsin Assembly

APPLETON, Wis. (WISS) – In April 2025, the Wisconsin Senate passed legislation to extend postpartum care for mothers on Medicaid to 12 months.

However, State Reps. from the Fox Valley say Wisconsin will not join the rest of the country in extending the care, as long as Robin Vos remains the Assembly Speaker.

Wisconsin is currently one of only two states in the country that does not offer 12 months of postpartum care for Medicaid recipients. 

The question of how the extension could be passed in both houses of the legislature in this legislative session was asked of Fox Valley lawmakers during a recent virtual town hall meeting.

Lawmakers comment on postpartum care bill

State Rep. Lori Palmeri (D – Oshkosh) is the co-author of Assembly Bill 97, which would extend postpartum coverage. She said she is sad that Wisconsin is coming in last on this issue.

“This bill was introduced and has yet to receive even a public hearing despite the bipartisan support and passing in the Senate,” Palmeri said. “The holdup is in the majority party leadership in the assembly, not because there’s no support on this.”

However, State Rep. Lee Snodgrass (D – Appleton) stated she did not see passage in the assembly happening, and she called out the person she holds responsible.

“The way to get it to pass is to have Robin Vos resign and go on to something else,” Snodgrass said, “And to have a different majority leader who would be willing to bring it forward. He (Vos) is the sole person standing in the way of this passing. It has already passed the Senate. They have enough votes through Republicans and Democrats, and I think maybe even just Republicans on the assembly side. He is refusing to allow it to get a hearing. He’s refusing to allow it to get to the floor. He alone is the obstacle.”

State Sen. André Jacque (R – New Franken) was also a part of the virtual town hall. He noted that the bill has passed the Senate with bipartisan support. 

“ I voted for it on the Senate floor, in each of the past two sessions,” Jacque said. “Far be it from me to say exactly what it’s gonna take in the assembly to pass a bill. But I do think its best chance to pass might be in combination with some other reforms, whether that’s the BadgerCare administration or some consumer-focused healthcare cost legislation.”

The virtual town hall meeting was hosted by the League of Women Voters Appleton-Fox Cities and the League of Women Voters Winnebago County.