Why Doesn’t Robin Vos Want New Moms and Babies to Have Health Care?

MADISON, Wis. — With the Wisconsin State Senate on April 22nd, passing a bill with overwhelming support to extend Medicaid coverage for new moms and babies for a full year after birth, professional stick in the mud Robin Vos is once again the sole obstacle standing in the way of progress in Wisconsin.

Thanks to Robin Vos, Wisconsin is one of only two states that has failed to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage for new moms. In 2024, Robin Vos sent the Assembly home in February without allowing a vote on postpartum Medicaid expansion—despite the bill clearing the State Senate 32-1. This year, Vos has again signaled he won’t let the legislation reach the Assembly floor.

“Extending postpartum Medicaid for a full year is a no-brainer, and Robin Vos is thinking too much,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Deputy Communications Director Haley McCoy. “48 states have recognized that access to uninterrupted, quality health care can save the lives of countless moms and babies, and it’s past time that Robin Vos gets out of the way and helps new families get the care they need.”

Extending postpartum Medicaid coverage will save lives:

• Over 80% of all pregnancy-related deaths are preventable with improved access to care and support.
  
  
• There were 63 pregnancy-related deaths in Wisconsin in the years 2020-2022, with one-third of those deaths occurring more than two months after the mother gave birth when health care is no longer guaranteed.
  
  
• Black women and women of color in Wisconsin are more likely to be low-income or uninsured and more likely to experience negative health outcomes related to pregnancy.
  
  
• In Wisconsin, Black women are 2.5 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women—a disparity that can be erased with increased access to care.