LOWER HEALTH CARE COSTS
FOR ALL WISCONSINITES

As governor, Sara Rodriguez will lower prices and guarantee affordable, reliable health care for every person in Wisconsin.

Health care in Wisconsin has become harder to afford and harder to count on. People are being squeezed by rising premiums, sky-high deductibles, and unexpected bills – all while worrying that their coverage could change or disappear without warning. Every dollar swallowed by health care is a dollar that can’t go toward everyday needs, and too often people are forced to put off doctor visits, ration medications, or hope a problem doesn’t get worse because they simply can’t afford to deal with it right now.

At the same time, Wisconsinites are caught in the middle of political dysfunction. Decisions made in Washington, DC and stalemates in Madison have left care more expensive, less accessible, and increasingly uncertain – from expiring ACA tax credits to hospital closures, gaps in mental health care, and ongoing threats to reproductive freedom. People deserve better than a system that shifts with elections and court cases. Wisconsin can build a health care system that is affordable, dependable, and protected – and as governor, Sara Rodriguez will lead that work.

1. Launch BadgerChoice: A Wisconsin Public Health Insurance Option

   • Sara will launch BadgerChoice, a Wisconsin-governed public option offering affordable and reliable coverage.

   • This allows anyone priced out of private insurance – farmers, small business owners, early retirees, young adults – to 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. Guarantee 12 Months of Postpartum Coverage

   • Sara will end Wisconsin’s dangerous 60-day postpartum cutoff, guaranteeing a full year of Medicaid coverage after birth.

   • This addresses postpartum depression, heart complications, and maternal mortality, all conditions that often appear months after delivery.

7. 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.