On Friday, February 20, the Wisconsin State Assembly concluded its work for the 2025-2026 regular legislative session and the state Senate is expected to conclude their final action on March 17.

As this is written, the Legislature proved the following bills of interest to WiAHC:

Medicaid Postpartum Legislation

• On March 18, Governor Evers signed Senate Bill 23, which extends Medicaid post-partum coverage to mothers to one year after the birth of a child.
• Under current state law, Medicaid coverage for low-income mothers lasts for the first 60 days after the birth of a child.
• This bill requires the state Department of Health Services to request approval from the federal Department of Health and Human Services to extend such coverage to one year after the birth of a child.
• SB23 passed the Assembly on February 19 by a vote of 95-1. It passed the Senate on April 22, 2025, by a vote of 32-1.

Senate Bill 264 (Requires health insurers to cover diagnostic breast exams and supplemental breast screening exams for those who are at increased risk of breast cancer or have heterogeneously or extremely dense breast tissue) passed the legislature.

• This bill also requires such screenings to be covered by Medicaid.
• SB264 passed the Assembly on February 19 by a vote of 96-0. It passed the Senate on October 14, 2025, by a vote of 32-1. It will subsequently go to the Governor for his consideration.

Senate Bill 822 (Allows discounts for the prompt payment of health care fees) passed the legislature.

• Under current state law, a clinician is not allowed to reduce (or offer to reduce) a patient’s coinsurance or deductible unless paying the amount would be an undue financial hardship for the patient.
• This bill clarifies that discounts for prompt patient payment do not violate existing prohibitions in state law. It also clarifies that clinicians may (but are not required to) offer a discount to patients for prompt payment. Discounts are limited to 15% of the bill (and are reasonably related to the avoided amount of collection costs).
• The bill also includes the following requirements related to allowing such a payment discount:
• The discount must be offered uniformly for prompt payment, without regard to the insurer or the patient's reason for seeking care.
• The clinician must notify insurers by posting the most up-to-date discount policy on their website (public advertising of the discount is prohibited unless otherwise required by law).
• The discount cannot be provided before the service is scheduled or outside the clinician’s ordinary course of dealing with patients (e.g., at registration, billing, or payment).
• Clinicians cannot shift the cost of the discount to other payers or include it in third-party payer contracts (except as allowed by state or federal law).
• This bill passed the Assembly on February 19 by voice vote. It passed the Senate on February 11. It will now go to the Governor for his consideration.

Once the state Senate has adjourned for the 2025-2026 regular legislative session, we will provide you with an appropriate update.