Lowering the Cost of Health Care in Wisconsin
Lt. Governor Sara Rodriguez, a nurse and public health leader, has a plan to lower health care costs and ensure Wisconsinites have access to affordable, dependable health care because it is becoming increasingly out of reach. Wisconsin deserves a health care system that is stable, affordable, and built to last. That’s why Sara Rodriguez will make health care more affordable for everyone across the state by:
Launching BadgerChoice
- BadgerChoice is a Wisconsin-governed public option offering affordable and reliable coverage.
- Anyone priced out of private insurance – farmers, small business owners, early retirees, young adults – can buy in.
- Use Wisconsin’s bargaining power to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs, hospital care, and mental health services.
- Allow people to keep their current plan but expand choice.
Pass a Wisconsin Health Care Bill of Rights
- Sara will enshrine core health protections into Wisconsin law so they can’t be rolled back by Congress or the courts.
- Permanently protect people with pre-existing conditions from being denied coverage, charged more, or kicked off their plan.
- Ban lifetime and annual coverage limits so no family is cut off from care when they need it most.
- End surprise medical billing and strengthen hospital financial assistance requirements.
Protect and Expand BadgerCare
- Defend and strengthen BadgerCare so more Wisconsinites can access affordable coverage.
- Ensure people aren’t pushed off coverage because of political gridlock or shifting federal priorities.
Guarantee Mental Health Care as Equal to Physical Health Care
- Sara will enforce true mental health parity so insurance covers mental health and addiction care the same way it covers physical care.
- Expand access to crisis intervention, adolescent mental health services, and substance-use treatment.
- Give the state real authority to hold insurers accountable when they deny or delay mental health care.
Protect Reproductive Freedom
- Sara will codify Roe vs. Wade into Wisconsin law and protect access to abortion, miscarriage care, ectopic pregnancy care, and fertility treatments.
Protect Rural Hospitals and Emergency Care
- Sara will work with the legislature to establish a Rural Health Stabilization Fund to keep ERs, maternity wards, and behavioral health services open.
- This expands telehealth and mobile crisis services so people aren’t driving hours for care and ensures fair reimbursement so hospitals can keep their doors open.
Paid for by Wisconsin Forward Fund
PO Box 5 Madison WI 53701
info@wiforwardfund.org