Audio File of Radio Address.
MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers, as part of his 2026 Legislative Agenda, is urging the Wisconsin State Legislature to work across the aisle to lower everyday out-of-pocket healthcare costs for Wisconsin families and seniors, prevent prescription drug price gouging, and crack down on health insurers to ensure Wisconsinites get the care and coverage that they pay for.
The governor’s proposal comes as healthcare costs are skyrocketing in 2026 due to President Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans’ failure to extend tax credits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), with many Wisconsinites seeing the cost of their healthcare coverage go up by thousands of dollars. For example, based on increased rates approved by the Trump Administration for the 2026 plan year, a middle-class family of four in Wausau could see their premium more than double, going from $866 a month to over $2,300. In Barron County, a 60-year-old couple making around $85,000 could see their premiums skyrocket over 800 percent, with an annual increase of over $33,000 in costs. And a 26-year-old in Eau Claire, making $48,000 a year and who is no longer eligible to be on their parents’ insurance would see their premium cost an additional $2,000 a year.
Despite Wisconsin setting record enrollments for two consecutive years, with the last Open Enrollment Period in 2025 seeing a record-setting 313,579 Wisconsinites sign up for health insurance through the ACA on the individual marketplace, enrollment for coverage in 2026 has gone down by over 24,000 Wisconsinites, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
In addition to Congressional Republicans’ failure to extend tax credits under the ACA, President Donald Trump’s signature legislation, the ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ also severely scales back several basic needs programs to pay for tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. This includes a roughly cut to Medicaid, increased bureaucratic red tape that will force 270,000 Wisconsinites to lose their health insurance coverage through Medicaid, and cuts that will jeopardize rural hospitals across the nation, including in Wisconsin, where the state’s hospitals are to lose over $264 million each year. More information on how the federal reconciliation bill will impact healthcare access and coverage in Wisconsin is available .
chaos is hurting Wisconsin families and maintains that there is more the state can and should do to give Wisconsinites a little breathing room in their household budgets, including lowering out-of-pocket healthcare costs, preventing prescription drug price gouging, and holding health insurers accountable to ensure folks get the coverage they pay for. To kick off the year, Gov. Evers to members of the Legislature outlining his legislative agenda for 2026 and urged 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 cutting healthcare costs and cracking down on health insurance companies and price gouging. The governor’s letter to members of the Legislature is available , and additional information on Gov. Evers’ proposals is available here.
Hey there, folks! Governor Tony Evers here.
Between President Trump’s chaotic trade wars and tariff taxes and cuts to critical basic needs programs like healthcare and food assistance, folks and families across our state are struggling.
And because Republicans in Congress have failed 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.
Wisconsin can’t afford to pick up the whole tab to fix this issue, but we should still be doing everything we can to help make sure Wisconsinites get the healthcare they need.
So, I’m also asking the Legislature to approve my plan to lower costs for prescriptions and medication and crack down on price gouging and health insurers.
My “Less for Rx” plan will lower costs for life-saving prescription drugs and insulin.
I also hear from folks who feel like they’re not getting a fair shake from their healthcare coverage.
Claims are denied all too often, and they can’t get a straight answer why, and people have to wait or drive hours or days to get the care that they need.
So, I’m asking the Legislature to consider passing commonsense ideas like auditing insurance companies for denying claims at high rates, holding insurers accountable so that Wisconsinites get the health insurance coverage they pay for, and cracking down on “prior authorizations” that require doctors to get permission before they prescribe the care that you need.
I also think we should create new standards to expand the healthcare services and procedures that insurance companies are required to cover.
In 2026, let’s make sure Wisconsinites’ insurance will cover more healthcare services and procedures with no delays, no hassles, and no questions asked.
We can continue doing the right thing for the people of the state, and I’m urging the Legislature to join me in getting good things done for Wisconsin this year.
Thank you.
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