Wisconsin’s Medicaid program is undergoing several developments, including a decline in enrollment, increased funding needs to maintain current services, and potential changes at the federal level that could impact future funding and operations. Enrollment Changes Following Policy Shift BadgerCare Plus enrollment fell below 900,000 in March 2025, marking the lowest total since August […]
Wisconsin Medicaid Faces Enrollment Shifts, Largest Cost-to-Continue and Potential Federal Funding Changes
Date Fri, May. 9, 2025 - 10:31am By Hamilton
Joint Committee on Finance Update
Date Fri, May. 9, 2025 - 10:28am By Hamilton
On May 8, the Republican-controlled Joint Committee on Finance removed 612 items from Governor Evers’ 2025-27 budget proposal and voted to reset the budget to “base,” or current spending levels. Items included in the budget motion included all non-fiscal policy items and several of the governor’s major proposals, such as: Democrats on the committee criticized the […]
APRN Modernization Act Released
Date Fri, May. 9, 2025 - 10:26am By Hamilton
On Tuesday, Senators Testin, Cabral Guevera, and Roys were joined by Assembly Representatives Kurtz and Subeck to release this session’s APRN modernization bill. As stated in the cosponsorship memo, “the APRN Modernization Act will bring Wisconsin in line with the National Consensus Model of Advanced Nurse Licensure. It will provide clarity to the scope of […]
Joint Finance Committee Continues State Budget Hearings Across Wisconsin
Date Fri, Apr. 18, 2025 - 9:00am By Hamilton
Next week, the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) will hold the final two public hearings on the 2025-27 biennial state budget. Monday, April 28 – Hayward High School Auditorium, 10320 Greenwood Lane, Hayward Tuesday, April 29 – Northcentral Technical College – Center for Health Sciences, 1000 W. Campus Drive, Wausau JFC’s public hearings offer an opportunity […]
Audit and Public Hearing on DEI Initiatives at UW System
Date Thu, Apr. 17, 2025 - 3:10pm By Hamilton
Last Friday, the Legislative Audit Bureau delivered an audit to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee which reviewed certain diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) activities at the University of Wisconsin system and select state agencies. The audit was requested by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee last May and found that certain Wisconsin state agencies and the […]
Wisconsin Supreme Court Upholds “400-Year” Veto
Date Thu, Apr. 17, 2025 - 3:06pm By Hamilton
Friday, April 18, the Wisconsin Supreme Court in a 4-3 decision upheld Gov. Tony Evers’ 2023 partial veto that extended annual school funding increases until the year 2425 by striking numerals and punctuation in the budget bill. The GOP-controlled legislature had passed a two-year increase in schools aids. Gov. Evers used his partial veto authority to, […]
2025-27 Capital Budget Sent to JFC with No Recommendation
Date Thu, Mar. 27, 2025 - 4:04pm By Hamilton
This Tuesday, the State Building Commission (SBC) convened to review Governor Ever’s 2025-27 Capital Budget. In the end, the commission deadlocked 4-4 on the Governor’s plan and are now sending the $4.1 billion proposal to the Joint Finance Committee with no recommendation. This is the fourth consecutive biennium the SBC has deadlocked on the capital […]
JFC Hearings Scheduled for April, but Budget Delays Possible
Date Thu, Mar. 27, 2025 - 2:24pm By Hamilton
In a typical state budget cycle, April marks the end of the Joint Finance Committee’s (JFC) traveling public hearings, followed by agency heads testifying on their respective budgets. By the end of the month, the committee usually begins taking up portions of the state budget to meet the June 30 deadline. But these are not […]
Key Policy Divides Emerge Early in Wisconsin Budget Debate
Date Thu, Mar. 6, 2025 - 4:01pm By Hamilton
Now that the dust has settled and the legislature has begun to dissect the Governor’s 2025-27 state budget, Republican legislators are ready to start over and craft their own budget. Before that, however, the majority leaders plan to introduce their own tax relief proposal using the state’s surplus. Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August has said […]
Senate Health Committee to Hold First Hearing of the Session on Direct Primary Care and Postpartum Medicaid Extension Bills
Date Fri, Feb. 7, 2025 - 10:40am By Hamilton
On Wednesday, February 12, the Senate Committee on Health will hold a public hearing on two familiar pieces of legislation. Senate Bill 4, which aims to clarify the legality of direct primary care agreements by exempting them from insurance regulations, is a reintroduction of a first introduced bill in the 2017-2018 session. Last session, a […]