For years, the powerful speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly refused to allow a bipartisan bill to come to a vote that would expand postpartum Medicaid coverage to new mothers. Finally, this week, he gave in.
“Go out and take your victory lap,” Republican Robin Vos told caucus members Wednesday night, according to a lawmaker.
“You win,” Vos added.
On Thursday, the Assembly agreed 95-1 to join a federal program that provides free health insurance to low-income mothers for a year after giving birth, up from 60 days previously. Vos was among those who voted yes.
The bill, which had already passed the Senate, now goes to Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat. He has openly supported such legislation for years and is expected to sign it.
Every other state in the country except Arkansas has already taken the plunge.
The vote represented a rare capitulation for Wisconsin’s longest-serving Assembly speaker — a man who controls the legislative agenda, provides campaign money to those he favors and punishes those who antagonize him. ProPublica wrote about Vos’ opposition to the bill last fall.
The turnaround came on a day of surprises involving Vos. Earlier, at the start of the session, he announced that he would retire at the end of the year, revealing that he had a mild heart attack in the fall and needed to reduce his stress. “To my leadership team and my caucus colleagues, thank you for your trust, thank you for your candor and your willingness to take responsibility when it is heavy,” he said.
Rep. Patrick Snyder, a Republican and the lead sponsor of the postpartum bill, threatened to fail to seek re-election if he failed to pass the measure — a legislative goal he had promised his constituents he would achieve. That would have left the GOP with an open seat in a swing district. Typically, incumbents have an advantage in elections.
“I just said if we can’t get this measure passed, I just don’t think I can come back,” Snyder told the speaker. “It was such an important bill.”
Vos has long opposed expanding Medicaid coverage for new mothers, explaining that he opposes spending more money on welfare in Wisconsin. The state Legislative and Fiscal Office estimated that when fully phased in, the policy over 12 months would cost the state about $9.4 million, with the federal government paying an additional $14.1 million.
All parties felt a sense of urgency as the Republican-controlled Legislature plans to wrap up the session soon to embark on campaigning for the rest of the year.
Democrats moved aggressively on the postpartum extension issue Wednesday, proposing amendments that attached the Medicaid change to one bill after another, creating a bit of legislative chaos as Republicans repeatedly ruled the issue irrelevant to the legislation under consideration. (Democrats did the same for another stalled bipartisan bill on insurance coverage for breast cancer screenings, a measure that also passed Thursday.)
Snyder said Democrats’ tactics nearly derailed GOP efforts to convince Vos to let both bills move forward. At a news conference, a dismayed Snyder likened it to someone tripping him while rushing to the finish line.
“I guess maybe they just didn’t think I could pull it off,” he later told ProPublica. “And now we have done it.”
In recent weeks, seven other GOP members have joined Snyder in pushing Vos to reconsider his position. In a letter to Vos on Feb. 3, the group told the speaker the legislation aligns with key Republican priorities, including protecting infants by ensuring they have healthy mothers.
The eight lawmakers are all in competitive districts. This week, despite the conflict they had with Vos, they still made sure to pay tribute to him, with one of them calling the speaker a “tough negotiator” and another publicly thanking Vos for “his understanding.”
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The legislation was supported by hospitals and medical groups as well as abortion advocates, who prioritize strong support for pregnant women and new mothers. Research has shown that the year after birth can be a dangerous time for women, who may face postpartum depression, blood clots, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and other long-term health problems.
Kate Duffy, a Wisconsin mom who amplifies political issues on social media under the moniker Motherhood for Good, has been fighting for expanded postpartum coverage and challenging Vos on the subject for about a year. She gained a significant following, particularly among Wisconsin women, many of whom answered the call to urge lawmakers to act.
She attributed the bill’s passage to “good old-fashioned organizing and relentless perseverance.”
Duffy said: “We just didn’t want to keep quiet about it. »