On March 17, 2026, the Wisconsin State Senate completed its final session day for the 2025-2026 regular legislative session, and the State Assembly held its final session day on February 20. While the legislature has concluded their scheduled session, there remains the possibility that the Assembly and Senate could reconvene for a special session (called by the Governor) or an extraordinary session (called by the Legislature itself) to address a major topic (e.g., a tax cut and/or school spending plan in response to the $2.5 billion state surplus).

Following the end of the 2025-2026 legislative session, Governor Tony Evers (D) has taken action on the following bills:

Assembly Bill 598 (Consent to admissions to certain health care facilities by patient representatives without requiring a petition for guardianship or protective placement)

• This bill allows a patient’s representative to consent to an incapacitated individual’s admission directly from a hospital to a nursing home or a community-based residential facility.
• This legislation passed the Assembly on February 19 by a vote of 77-18. It passed the Senate on March 17 by a vote of 28-5.
• Governor Evers signed this bill on March 20.
• WiHPCA formally registered in support of this legislation.

Senate Bill 264 (Requires health insurers to cover diagnostic breast exams and  screening exams for those  at increased risk of breast cancer)

• This bill also requires such screenings to be covered by Medicaid.
• SB264 passed the Assembly on February 19 by a vote of 96-0. It passed the Senate on October 14, 2025, by a vote of 32-1.
• Governor Evers signed this bill on March 19.
• WiHPCA did not take a formal position on this bill.

Senate Bill 417 (Visitation of a long-term care facility resident or hospital patient during a communicable disease outbreak)

• The bill allows members of the clergy and “essential visitors” to visit residents/patients of an assisted living facility, nursing home, or hospital during a communicable disease outbreak, provided that these individuals meet certain criteria, including complying with health and safety policies.
• This bill passed the Senate on January 21 by a vote of 19-14. It passed the Assembly on February 19 by voice vote.
• Governor Evers vetoed this bill on March 20.
• WiHPCA did not take a formal position on this bill.

Senate Bill 822 (Allows discounts for the prompt payment of health care fees)

• Under prior state law, a clinician is not allowed to reduce (or offer to reduce) a patient’s coinsurance or deductible unless paying the amount would be an undue financial hardship for the patient.
• This bill clarifies that discounts for prompt patient payment do not violate existing prohibitions in state law. It also clarifies that clinicians may (but are not required to) offer a discount to patients for prompt payment. Discounts are limited to 15% of the bill (and are reasonably related to the avoided amount of collection costs).
• The bill also includes the following requirements related to allowing such a payment discount:
• The discount must be offered uniformly for prompt payment, without regard to the insurer or the patient's reason for seeking care.
• The clinician must notify insurers by posting the most up-to-date discount policy on their website (public advertising of the discount is prohibited unless otherwise required by law).
• The discount cannot be provided before the service is scheduled or outside the clinician’s ordinary course of dealing with patients (e.g., at registration, billing, or payment).
• Clinicians cannot shift the cost of the discount to other payers or include it in third-party payer contracts (except as allowed by state or federal law).
• This bill passed the Assembly on February 19  by voice vote. It passed the Senate on February 11.
• Governor Evers signed this bill on April 2.
• WiHPCA did not take a formal position on this bill.

Senate Bill 832 (Allowing any pharmacy to be operated as a remotely supervised pharmacy, if the pharmacist complies with the Pharmacy Examining Board’s rules)

• Under prior state law, pharmacies at certain locations (e.g., health care facilities, clinicians’ offices, and correctional facilities) may be operated as remote dispensing sites that are supervised remotely by pharmacists.
• This bill passed the Assembly on February 19 by voice vote. It passed the Senate on February 11.
• Governor Evers signed this bill on April 2.
• WiHPCA did not take a formal position on this legislation.