Press Release: Gov. Evers Delivers Weekly Radio Address, Highlights Plan to Lower Everyday Out-of-Pocket Costs for Working Families and Seniors

To kick off the year, Gov. Evers sent a letter to members of the Wisconsin State Legislature outlining his legislative agenda and urging legislators to continue building upon the historic bipartisan accomplishments of 2025, which included negotiating and passing a bipartisan state budget, and to work across the aisle on several key priorities, including lowering out-of-pocket costs, providing $1.3 billion property tax relief plan and increases to K-12 school funding, ensuring access to safe, clean drinking water, supporting Wisconsin farmers and veterans, and reforming Wisconsin’s justice system. The governor’s letter to members of the Legislature is available here.

The governor’s proposal also comes as Wisconsinites are seeing rising costs on everything from utility bills to groceries, with new reports indicating that of the $200 billion in tariff revenue that was generated by President Trump’s trade wars last year, Americans paid for 96 percent. Additionally, due to the failure of Republicans in Congress to extend tax credits under the Affordable Care Act, many Wisconsinites this year will see the cost of their healthcare coverage go up by thousands of dollars. 

In addition to providing over $1.3 billion in property tax relief to Wisconsinites, in his letter to the Legislature, Gov. Evers outlined his plan to help families keep more of their hard-earned money by lowering everyday out-of-pocket costs for Wisconsinites, which includes:  

• Exempting basic family needs like diapers, incontinence products, over-the-counter medication, toothpaste, and breast pumps from the sales tax;   
• Lowering costs for prescriptions and medications and cracking down on price gouging with his “Less for Rx” plan, which would cap insulin copays at $35 and eliminate the sales tax on over-the-counter medications, saving Wisconsinites $70 million over the next two years alone; and  
• Cutting healthcare costs by cracking down on health insurers, helping Wisconsinites fight denied claims, and expanding the healthcare services and procedures that insurance companies are required to cover. 

The governor’s proposal also comes as Wisconsin closed the last fiscal year with nearly $4 billion in the state’s general fund, which is like the state’s checking account, and $2 billion in the ‘rainy day’ fund. Additionally, new projections from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau were released showing state revenue will be over $1.5 billion higher than previous estimates expected, providing an opportunity for the state to use these funds to implement Gov. Evers’ plan to lower out-of-pocket costs for working families and seniors.  

Hey there, folks! Governor Tony Evers here.

Things are simply not affordable, and paychecks aren’t going as far as they used to.

Especially as Americans and Wisconsinites are being forced to foot the bill for the President’s reckless tariff tax and trade wars.

Folks, of the $200 billion—and that’s billion with a B—in tariff revenue that was generated by the president’s trade wars last year, Americans paid for 96 percent of it. 96. Percent.

You heard that right. Americans paid nearly $200 billion last year, thanks to the president’s tariff taxes.

So, here in Wisconsin, we’re getting to work. A top priority for us in 2026 must be to address rising costs.

From providing property tax cuts and investing in our kids and schools to eliminating the sales tax on everyday household items like diapers, medications, and toothpaste, there is a lot we can do to lower costs in Wisconsin.

I want the Legislature to join me in providing over $1 billion in property tax relief for the average Wisconsin homeowner.

Under my plan, we can make sure the average homeowner will not see a property tax increase. Period.

We also know that many Wisconsinites this year will see the cost of their healthcare coverage go up by thousands of dollars because Republicans in Congress have failed to extend tax credits under the Affordable Care Act. 
 
So, I’m asking the Legislature to join me in cracking down on price gouging and health insurers to lower healthcare costs for Wisconsin families.  
 
My plan would cap the copay for insulin at $35, create new standards to expand the healthcare services that insurance companies are required to cover, and help Wisconsinites fight denied claims.  
 
Today, we can give Wisconsin families a little more breathing room in their household budgets, and I hope the Legislature will join me in getting this done. Thank you.