WI CAN News Digest
February 4 - May 4, 2021
Wisconsin
Wisconsin budget battle begins: GOP lawmakers plan to remove 280 items from Gov. Tony Evers' proposal
The Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee will vote May 6 to strip Medicaid expansion and dozens of other healthcare-related proposals from Gov. Tony Evers’ proposed 2021-23 budget. Items to be removed include increasing funding for the women’s health block grant program and repealing provisions that require DHS to apply for federal Title X family planning grant funding that used to go to Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. 4.30.21
Medicaid coverage for doulas and the postpartum period, grants for Black women's health, all part of Gov. Tony Evers' budget proposal
Gov. Tony Evers’ state budget would make significant investments in maternal and child health in Wisconsin, if passed as proposed. The Democratic governor’s budget proposal calls for an extension of Medicaid coverage during the postpartum period, from 60 days to 12 months. The move would ensure that mothers retain health insurance during a crucial window. 4.28.21
How Wisconsin organizations supporting reproductive health and parenting weathered the pandemic
Organizations that support reproductive health and parenting in Wisconsin were forced to adapt to an ever-changing landscape of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many, including Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, Maroon Calabash, and Harambee Village Doulas, are trying to meet clients where they’re at financially, mentally, and geographically. 4.28.21
Medicaid looks to build on telehealth
Wisconsin Medicaid Director Jim Jones said that telehealth will only become more important after the COVID-19 pandemic ends. He said the Medicaid program is now looking at the future of telehealth and is in the process of developing administrative rules, part of which includes covering asynchronous telehealth. They’re also trying to figure out facility fees, which are currently provided based on where the person provides the service. 3.11.21
Access to reproductive health and rights at a tipping point: U.S. gets an “F”
The Population Institute released its ninth annual 50 State Report Card on Reproductive Health and Rights. Overall the U.S. received a failing grade, and Wisconsin is among the 23 states that failed the assessment with a score of 29.5 (F-) out of 100. The report card, the most comprehensive of its kind, tracks multiple indicators of reproductive health and rights, including access to family planning, sex education, and abortion services. 3.1.21
Senate committees forward healthcare bills
Senate committees forwarded a series of healthcare bills, including a bill allowing pharmacists to prescribe oral birth control (SB 30), which passed 4-1. 2.12.21
Senate Health committee hears slew of bills
The Senate Committee on Health considered multiple bills that didn’t make it into law last year, including a bill to allow pharmacists to prescribe oral birth control in the state (SB 30). Sen. Mary Felzkowski, R-Irma, said the bill would increase access in rural areas, where it’s not easy to make appointments with doctors or advanced practice nurses due to a shortage of providers, transportation costs, and time constraints. “This is an artificial barrier that we need to remove,” she said. “The government should not play the role of gatekeeper in preventing women from accessing this medical tool.” 2.10.21
National
Biden Administration moves to undo Trump abortion rules for Title X
The Biden administration is moving to reverse a Trump-era family planning policy that critics describe as a domestic ‘gag rule’ for reproductive healthcare providers. The proposal would largely return the federal Title X family planning program to its status before Trump took office. 4.14.21
Small piece of the stimulus has ambitious aim of saving mothers’ lives
The American Rescue Plan, the stimulus plan President Biden signed into law in March, will let states extend Medicaid coverage to low-income women who are pregnant for a full year after delivery, and provides federal funding to do so. Notably the new law does not automatically extend Medicaid postpartum coverage. Rather it makes available to states a simpler method to achieve this coverage. 3.14.21
Supreme Court to review Trump curbs on abortion clinics, immigration
The Supreme Court announced it would review the Trump administration’s “domestic gag rule”, which prohibits Title X family planning funding for organizations that provide or refer for abortions. The Biden administration is expected to revise the Trump policies and has asked the court to dismiss the case. A favorable ruling from the Supreme Court could make it easier for future Republican administrations to restore them. 2.22.21
Biden Administration resurrects office to help women 'at the breaking point'
The Biden Administration launched a new Gender Policy Council within the White House. Its agenda includes restoring and expanding reproductive rights, combating gender-based violence, reducing maternal mortality, and adding the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution. 2.4.21
News Archive
12.1.20-2.4.21
7.18.20-9.23.20
6.5.20-7.17.20
4.1.20-6.4.20
2.15.20-3.30.20
1.15.20-2.14.20
12.15.19-1.14.20
11.15.19-12.14.19
10.15.19-11.14.19
9.15.19-10.14.19
8.15.19-9.14.19
7.15.19-8.14.19
6.15.19-7.15.19
5.13.19-6.14.19
Wisconsin
Wisconsin budget battle begins: GOP lawmakers plan to remove 280 items from Gov. Tony Evers' proposal
The Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee will vote May 6 to strip Medicaid expansion and dozens of other healthcare-related proposals from Gov. Tony Evers’ proposed 2021-23 budget. Items to be removed include increasing funding for the women’s health block grant program and repealing provisions that require DHS to apply for federal Title X family planning grant funding that used to go to Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. 4.30.21
Medicaid coverage for doulas and the postpartum period, grants for Black women's health, all part of Gov. Tony Evers' budget proposal
Gov. Tony Evers’ state budget would make significant investments in maternal and child health in Wisconsin, if passed as proposed. The Democratic governor’s budget proposal calls for an extension of Medicaid coverage during the postpartum period, from 60 days to 12 months. The move would ensure that mothers retain health insurance during a crucial window. 4.28.21
How Wisconsin organizations supporting reproductive health and parenting weathered the pandemic
Organizations that support reproductive health and parenting in Wisconsin were forced to adapt to an ever-changing landscape of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many, including Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, Maroon Calabash, and Harambee Village Doulas, are trying to meet clients where they’re at financially, mentally, and geographically. 4.28.21
Medicaid looks to build on telehealth
Wisconsin Medicaid Director Jim Jones said that telehealth will only become more important after the COVID-19 pandemic ends. He said the Medicaid program is now looking at the future of telehealth and is in the process of developing administrative rules, part of which includes covering asynchronous telehealth. They’re also trying to figure out facility fees, which are currently provided based on where the person provides the service. 3.11.21
Access to reproductive health and rights at a tipping point: U.S. gets an “F”
The Population Institute released its ninth annual 50 State Report Card on Reproductive Health and Rights. Overall the U.S. received a failing grade, and Wisconsin is among the 23 states that failed the assessment with a score of 29.5 (F-) out of 100. The report card, the most comprehensive of its kind, tracks multiple indicators of reproductive health and rights, including access to family planning, sex education, and abortion services. 3.1.21
Senate committees forward healthcare bills
Senate committees forwarded a series of healthcare bills, including a bill allowing pharmacists to prescribe oral birth control (SB 30), which passed 4-1. 2.12.21
Senate Health committee hears slew of bills
The Senate Committee on Health considered multiple bills that didn’t make it into law last year, including a bill to allow pharmacists to prescribe oral birth control in the state (SB 30). Sen. Mary Felzkowski, R-Irma, said the bill would increase access in rural areas, where it’s not easy to make appointments with doctors or advanced practice nurses due to a shortage of providers, transportation costs, and time constraints. “This is an artificial barrier that we need to remove,” she said. “The government should not play the role of gatekeeper in preventing women from accessing this medical tool.” 2.10.21
National
Biden Administration moves to undo Trump abortion rules for Title X
The Biden administration is moving to reverse a Trump-era family planning policy that critics describe as a domestic ‘gag rule’ for reproductive healthcare providers. The proposal would largely return the federal Title X family planning program to its status before Trump took office. 4.14.21
Small piece of the stimulus has ambitious aim of saving mothers’ lives
The American Rescue Plan, the stimulus plan President Biden signed into law in March, will let states extend Medicaid coverage to low-income women who are pregnant for a full year after delivery, and provides federal funding to do so. Notably the new law does not automatically extend Medicaid postpartum coverage. Rather it makes available to states a simpler method to achieve this coverage. 3.14.21
Supreme Court to review Trump curbs on abortion clinics, immigration
The Supreme Court announced it would review the Trump administration’s “domestic gag rule”, which prohibits Title X family planning funding for organizations that provide or refer for abortions. The Biden administration is expected to revise the Trump policies and has asked the court to dismiss the case. A favorable ruling from the Supreme Court could make it easier for future Republican administrations to restore them. 2.22.21
Biden Administration resurrects office to help women 'at the breaking point'
The Biden Administration launched a new Gender Policy Council within the White House. Its agenda includes restoring and expanding reproductive rights, combating gender-based violence, reducing maternal mortality, and adding the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution. 2.4.21
News Archive
12.1.20-2.4.21
7.18.20-9.23.20
6.5.20-7.17.20
4.1.20-6.4.20
2.15.20-3.30.20
1.15.20-2.14.20
12.15.19-1.14.20
11.15.19-12.14.19
10.15.19-11.14.19
9.15.19-10.14.19
8.15.19-9.14.19
7.15.19-8.14.19
6.15.19-7.15.19
5.13.19-6.14.19
