Affordable and Safe Healthcare
Every Wisconsinite deserves access to quality, affordable healthcare. Life is unaffordable right now, and the legislature should be doing all in its power to make sure every Wisconsinite has the access to healthcare they deserve. That is why I have fought to lower the price of healthcare in the Assembly, and will continue that fight in the Senate.
BadgerCare Public Option
Everyone deserves access to quality, affordable healthcare–and right now, that’s not a reality for far too many Wisconsinites. Many of us, and our neighbors, are being forced to choose between paying for food, rent, childcare, and healthcare. Establishing a BadgerCare Public Option can create a new, more affordable pathway to quality health insurance–that’s why I authored this bill.
Big Wins! Gail’s Law and Postpartum Medicaid Expansion
For years I was told we couldn’t pass Gail’s Law and postpartum Medicaid expansion, but I refused to give up fighting. I knew Wisconsin women’s lives depended on action, and so I demanded votes on these bills, and I demanded them over and over again. After “Democrats used unusually aggressive tactics”, we finally passed these bills through the legislature.
Gail’s Law
Gail’s Law requires health insurance to cover breast cancer screenings. Gail is the namesake of the breast cancer screening bill. Before she passed away, Gail served as a fierce advocate for women with dense breast tissue, and expanding access to breast cancer screenings. I began my speech in support of Gail’s Law on the Assembly floor by thanking the family of Gail Zeamer (watch here).
Postpartum Medicaid Expansion
Postpartum Medicaid expansion extends postpartum Medicaid expansion from 60 days to 1 year. This extension, which is paid for by the federal government, has been offered to Wisconsin for the past 5 years. When Governor Evers signed the bill into law, Wisconsin became the 49th, yes, second to last, state in the country to extend postpartum care to one year.
Lowering the Cost of Prescription Drugs
No family should have to make the impossible choice between buying their life-saving medication or paying for groceries. I introduced legislation to make epinephrine (like EpiPens), insulin, and inhalers more affordable and accessible, and supported legislation to improve transparency of prescription drug costs.
Period Products
Ending the Pink Tax
2 in 5 menstruators struggle to afford period products, and every Wisconsinite has the right to be safe, clean, and healthy. That is why I introduced a bipartisan bill to eliminate sales tax on menstrual products. Access to menstrual products is both a public health issue and a human dignity issue.
Menstrual Products in Prisons & Jails
Every Wisconsinite has the right to be safe, clean, and healthy, and access to menstrual products is both a public health issue, and a human dignity issue. That is why I introduced a bipartisan bill to provide free menstrual products in prisons and jails. I proudly testified alongside my senate partner, Senator LaTonya Johnson, in the Assembly Committee on Corrections.
Maternal Health
I support legislation to improve maternal and infant health outcomes and reduce health outcome disparities for women and babies of color. I supported the Healthy Women, Healthy Babies initiatives in Governor Evers’ proposed budget last budget cycle, which included funding for doula training and Medicaid reimbursement for doula services, extending Medicaid coverage postpartum to one-year, and funding for maternal and infant mortality prevention. I recently published an op-ed calling on legislative Republicans to schedule a vote on postpartum Medicaid expansion, and you can read that here.
After maternal health health initiatives continued to be ignored in the legislature, I introduced and passed a bipartisan resolution in the Assembly to proclaim May 2023 as Maternal Health Month in Wisconsin, bringing attention to the health, well-being, and value of Wisconsin mothers.
Mental Healthcare
I authored the Mental Healthcare is Healthcare legislation– 11 bills to increase access to mental health services across the state of Wisconsin, including expanding access to veterans, and in schools, as well as requiring health insurance to cover mental health visits.. And, in order to expand access, we must expand the workforce, so this legislation also addresses the mental healthcare professional shortage. And, because everyone deserves access to affordable mental healthcare, one of the bills requires insurance to cover mental health visits. You can read about these bills here, here, and here.
Check out my Mental Healthcare page for more!
Reproductive Freedom
After the fall of Roe v. Wade, I joined my Democratic colleagues to introduce the Restore Roe Act to repeal Wisconsin’s archaic 1849 criminal abortion ban and enshrine the protections of Roe into state law.
This session, I joined my Democratic colleagues in introducing the Abortion Rights Preservation Act. This bill repeals the 1849 criminal abortion ban and repeals a number of restrictions that prevent access to healthcare and puts women’s lives in danger.
See my Reproductive Freedom page for more!