LA CROSSE / EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — Community Action Wisconsin (CAW), a new grassroots organizing effort, announced today that it has turned in over 13,000 signatures to city clerks in La Crosse and Eau Claire to place Local Healthcare Action Plan measures on the November 2026 ballot. The citizen-led effort is a new partnership between local residents, community leaders, and organizations to actually try to make healthcare more affordable for working families in Wisconsin.

The ballot measure would direct each city to develop a Local Healthcare Action Plan to diagnose local healthcare access and affordability, assess policy decisions driving those problems, and make recommendations for local leaders. Wisconsinites are tired of waiting for Washington, and even more tired of elected leaders who vote to cut taxes for the rich while cutting Medicaid for those who need it most. This ballot measure is designed to hold those leaders accountable and develop local solutions to make healthcare cheaper and more accessible here for Eau Claire and here for La Crosse.

Over the past several weeks, organizers have collected signatures in Eau Claire and La Crosse to advance these local ballot measures. Community Action Wisconsin 5,045 signatures to the La Crosse City Clerk’s Office, above the required minimum of 3,297, and 8,163 to the Eau Claire City Clerk to exceed the required 4,476 signatures. Once signatures are verified by the clerk’s office, the measure will advance to the Eau Claire and La Crosse City Councils, where members can vote to place it on the November general election ballot.

“Healthcare costs are skyrocketing, and we can’t wait for Washington. Local leaders are already doing so much to improve local healthcare options, this proposal will expand their ability to deliver affordable, accessible care to the communities they represent,” said a spokesperson for Community Action Wisconsin. “The overwhelming response shows that our neighbors in La Crosse and Eau Claire understand that this is a top priority. We need local, citizen-led solutions to make sure healthcare is affordable and accessible in these communities.”

“An estimated 54,000 Wisconsinites are losing Medicaid coverage because of cuts passed by Congress last year. These people are our patients, our coworkers, our friends, and our family members. They are people who are already delaying care, skipping prescriptions, and working extra hours just to keep their health insurance,” said Dr. Sandy Frohling, an internal medicine doctor in Eau Claire. “That is why I support implementing a Local Healthcare Action Plan here in Eau Claire. This is an important step toward making sure our community has a voice in the decisions that affect our health and our future.”

“As a small business, healthcare costs are becoming increasingly unaffordable. We are hardly able to afford health insurance for ourselves, let alone have it be something that we offer to our employees in a country where we have so many resources,” said Mary Larson, co-owner of Larson’s General Store in La Crosse. “We appreciate all the folks who went out and have been collecting signatures. We understand that there needs to be overarching policy change, but also that change starts at a local level. We’re grateful that there are people that are advocating on our behalf, and we hope to get to a point where healthcare is affordable and accessible for everyone, not just folks who have the needs.”

Organizers say the measure is a direct response to federal action that has made healthcare more expensive and harder to reach in western Wisconsin:

  • More than 300,000 Wisconsinites are at risk of seeing health insurance premiums double or triple in 2026 after Congress allowed ACA tax credits to expire.
  • Medical costs in Wisconsin have risen 140% since 2000, far outpacing the 83% growth in household income over the same period, according to a UW–Madison analysis.
  • An estimated 54,000 Wisconsinites are losing Medicaid coverage following federal cuts approved by Congress last year.

About Community Action Wisconsin: Community Action Wisconsin is a grassroots effort organizing La Crosse and Eau Claire residents around healthcare affordability. Rather than waiting on Washington, CAW is building a local, citizen-led process — the Local Healthcare Action Plan — that gives community members, medical providers, and local leaders a standing mechanism to diagnose problems, assess the impact of policy decisions, and recommend fixes on a recurring two-year cycle. More information is available at communityactionwi.org.