Updates

Senator Erpenbach Introduces Comprehensive Health Care Protections Bill: 

With the Affordable Care Act (ACA) under attack in Wisconsin, it is vital that Wisconsinites are guaranteed access to affordable and quality health care, regardless of their previous conditions. Republicans have sued to take federal protections away from the people of Wisconsin, and the Joint Finance Committee Democrats wrote a letter asking them to hold a hearing on the Attorney General’s request to withdraw from the lawsuit, but we have not heard back.

Therefore, I have introduced a comprehensive piece of legislation that takes those federal protections and puts them into Wisconsin law, guaranteeing our communities are able to get access to care they need without going bankrupt. 

The Comprehensive Health Care Protections Bill will:

• Prohibit insurance companies from discriminating based on a person’s pre-existing condition.
• Prohibit Lifetime and Annual Limits.
• Require health insurance policies to cover essential health benefits specified by DHS with limits on cost sharing.
• Guaranteed issue-requires health plans to permit you to enroll regardless of health status, gender or other factors that might predict use.

It is time to stop playing politics with people’s lives, and work across the aisle on real solutions. No one should be discriminated against, or denied coverage based on the history of their health, and this legislation is a comprehensive step towards protecting Wisconsin families.