The Office of the Governor of the State of Wisconsin
03/18/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 03/18/2026 16:00
Gov. Evers Delivers on Key Promise to Wisconsin Moms by Extending Postpartum Coverage From 60 Days to One Year
Press Release: Gov. Evers Delivers on Key Promise to Wisconsin Moms by Extending Postpartum Coverage From 60 Days to One Year
State of Wisconsin sent this bulletin at 03/18/2026 09:57 AM CDT| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 18, 2026 |
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**Promise Made, Promise Kept** |
| Gov. Evers Delivers on Key Promise to Wisconsin Moms by Extending Postpartum Coverage From 60 Days to One Year |
| Gov. Evers has spent the last seven years working to secure a full year of postpartum coverage for Wisconsin families, having included provisions to do so in each of his four biennial budget proposals since being elected governor |
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MILWAUKEE - Gov. Tony Evers today at Children's Wisconsin in Milwaukee enacted Senate Bill (SB) 23, now 2025 Wisconsin Act 102, delivering on a key promise he made to Wisconsin moms as governor to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage for thousands of new moms, babies, and families across Wisconsin from 60 days to one year. Since Day One, Gov. Evers has been a relentless advocate for expanding access to quality, affordable healthcare and improving maternal and infant health outcomes in Wisconsin. Gov. Evers has made expanding postpartum coverage to one year a cornerstone of his "Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies" initiative, which he's spent seven years working to pass, including the proposal in each of his four budgets as governor and even going so far as to repeatedly and directly implore lawmakers in many of his major addresses over eight years as governor to do so. The governor renewed his call for lawmakers to expand postpartum coverage once again earlier this year in a letter to members of the Wisconsin State Legislature outlining his top legislative priorities for 2026. The governor is proud to have finally gotten this important priority across the finish line for moms across Wisconsin. "Almost seven years ago to the day, I first proposed expanding postpartum Medicaid coverage from 60 days to a full year. It was one of the very first things I announced back in 2019 as part of my very first budget, and it's been in every budget I've ever introduced as governor-that's how long I've been fighting to get this done, folks. "So, we knew from the get-go that getting this passed was an uphill battle. But we also weren't going to let partisanship or politics stop us from continuing our work to build support for this important proposal, because we know just how high the stakes are," continued Gov. Evers. "Research has shown us that expanding postpartum coverage leads to improved maternal and birth outcomes, thanks to more folks being able to access the care they need when they need it-and without breaking the bank. Now more than ever, we should be working to make healthcare more affordable and more accessible, not making it more expensive and harder for folks-including new moms and families-to get the care they need. "Expanding postpartum coverage is the right move for Wisconsin families, it's the right move for our state, and it's a privilege to be able to sign this bill into law today," Gov. Evers concluded. "It's been a long time coming, but I'm darn proud we got it done." Gov. Evers believes that every Wisconsinite should have access to quality, affordable healthcare, including reproductive healthcare, and the governor has been a champion for addressing and improving maternal and infant health outcomes in Wisconsin. As part of his "Healthy Meals, Healthy Babies" initiative, Gov. Evers has proposed expanding postpartum Medicaid coverage to 12 months for the entirety of his tenure as governor, including in each of his Executive Budget proposals he has introduced across all seven years of his tenure as governor in 2019, 2021, 2023, and 2025. Following the bill signing, the governor will be traveling across the state, hosting community conversations with local moms, families, and leaders to discuss how the state can continue to address maternal health disparities and ensure that new moms and families have the resources they need to be well. "Supporting new moms and their babies in the first year of life is critical for the long-term physical and mental health for both, and we are grateful to Gov. Evers for his many years advocating for policies to improve infant and maternal health and signing SB 23, which authorizes extending postpartum Medicaid coverage to 12 months, subject to federal approval," said Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) Secretary Kirsten Johnson. "Research shows extending this coverage improves health outcomes by strengthening a new mother's physical and emotional health and reduces the need for extensive and expensive long-term treatment. Providing health care when families need it the most also improves a family's economic stability, which is good for them and the state. We wish to thank Gov. Evers and lawmakers for helping DHS fulfill our mission of protecting and promoting the health of Wisconsinites." From pregnancy to childbirth to postpartum and beyond, ensuring the health and wellness of all mothers and babies in Wisconsin has been a top priority for Gov. Evers and the Evers Administration. Despite advances in medical science and technology, pregnancy-related complications and deaths continue to occur at high levels in Wisconsin. According to DHS's Division of Public Health, Wisconsin's severe maternal morbidity rate, which are described as serious birth complications, or "near-misses," has steadily increased in recent years, and that the rate of severe maternal morbidity for people on Medicaid or BadgerCare is higher than for those with private insurance. According to DHS, nearly half of pregnancy-related deaths occur in the postpartum period, and the Wisconsin Maternal Mortality Review Team found that nearly all (95 percent) of these deaths were preventable. Unfortunately, in Wisconsin, this issue disproportionately affects families of color, especially Black families, as Black mothers are approximately 2.5 times more likely than their white, non-Hispanic peers to die from complications of pregnancy and childbirth. Despite these appalling realities and the concept of expanding postpartum coverage having overwhelming support of 66 percent of Wisconsinites and a bipartisan supermajority in the Wisconsin State Legislature, Wisconsin has for years been one of just two states in the nation that had not expanded postpartum coverage under Medicaid to 12 months-until today. Expanded postpartum coverage will be available for Wisconsin families starting July 1, 2026, following a standard period of review and approval of Wisconsin's state plan amendment by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Senate Bill 23, now 2025 Wisconsin Act 102:
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| An online version of this release is available here. |
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The Office of the Governor of the State of Wisconsin published this content on March 18, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on March 18, 2026 at 22:00 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]