Madison, Wis. — On Wednesday, November 19, Republican Speaker Robin Vos blocked a procedural move by Assembly Democrats to force a vote on SB 23, a broadly bipartisan bill to expand postpartum Medicaid coverage from 60 days to a full year. Rep. Greta Neubauer released the following statement:
“It’s time for Assembly Republicans to buck their leadership and join us in expanding health coverage for new moms. It’s pathetic that Speaker Vos continues to block this important bill from receiving a vote. The silence from the Republican caucus on this critical issue is deafening.”
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “This is a blatant effort by the Speaker to prevent this important bill from getting a vote on the floor,” Neubauer told reporters. “I hope that my Assembly Republican colleagues will stop being pushed around by their leader and they will join us in getting this bill to the floor for a vote, one way or another.”
Wisconsin State Journal: “The events come days after ProPublica […] highlighted efforts by Vos to prevent the bill from reaching a floor vote despite already passing the GOP-controlled Senate and securing bipartisan support from more than 70 lawmakers in the Assembly.”
Wisconsin Examiner: “Wisconsin is one of two states in the U.S. that have not taken the federal government’s postpartum Medicaid expansion, and Democratic lawmakers hoped to begin the process of changing that during the floor session.”
Spectrum News 1: “With Affordable Care Act (ACA) premiums expected to rise next year, the effort by Democrats cuts across party lines as the push to extend postpartum Medicaid has garnered broad bipartisan support, with nearly two-thirds of all members of the Wisconsin Legislature having co-sponsored the bill.”
WMTV: “The Medicaid coverage expansion has passed in 48 other states and has nearly 30 Republican co-authors in the Wisconsin Legislature. ‘They have been bullied by their Speaker into not pushing for a vote,’ Neubauer said of Republican lawmakers who support the bill.”
WTMJ: “Democrats in the Wisconsin Assembly are calling out Speaker Robin Vos, as they say he blocked a bipartisan bill that would extend postpartum coverage for new mothers.”
