Wisconsin can’t wait on Washington for health care reform

MADISON, Wis. (WSAW) – Republican state Sen. Mary Felzkowski says stalled health care legislation remains her biggest frustration heading into the new year.

In an end-of-year interview, Felzkowski said states should “grab the bull by the horns,” when it comes to reforming the state’s medical system.

Vanessa Kjeldsen: What’s the most frustrating item for you that’s still being stuck in the Senate that’s maybe not going to see the floor session?

Mary Felzkowski: I think it’s all our health care bills. I think sometimes our members, you know, keep sitting back and thinking that this is something that should happen at the federal government… And I’m like, we can’t just keep waiting on Washington to solve problems. I think these are things that the states have to just say, ‘Washington is in gridlock.’ States have to start stepping up and grabbing the bull by the horns and getting things done at the state level.

VK: Wisconsin is getting a lot of data center attention, a lot of data centers looking to build here. What’s your reaction to that?

MF: It’s interesting you bring that up. So as I talk to colleagues from other parts of the nation and stuff like that, we’re all kind of like, is this a good idea? Is it not a good idea?…So I’m kind of– I’m cautious on them. You don’t know what you don’t know. They’re very good for the local property tax base, and that’s why a lot of municipalities want them. They don’t produce a lot of jobs, though.

VK: Do you think we’ll see bills related to data centers in the new year?

MF: I don’t know. I don’t know. I haven’t, we, I haven’t heard of anybody working on one, but I don’t know.

VK: What are the legislature’s plans to address health care costs?

MF: So I’m hoping in January we can have hospital price transparency for patients move forward. We have an all-payer claims database, mandatory wheel. We have PBM reform.

VK: Cole’s Law, the pharmacy benefit manager reform–

MF: That’s PBM reform, yeah.

VK: Where does it stand in the senate?

MF: So it is through committee and it’s just getting enough votes to get it across the floor.

VK: So it’s likely we’ll see it come to a vote in the upcoming year?

MF: I’m hoping that we could possibly have a vote on it in January.

VK: What do you think the holdup has been?

MF: Some of our big employer groups do not like some of the provisions inside of it. I don’t think that they quite understand them enough. And we just right now don’t have the votes to get it done. But I’m hoping we can get there.

VK: Did you decide to not run for governor when Rep. Tom Tiffany got into the race?

MF: I was never going to run for governor. People like to put your name out for things.

VK: Why not?

MF: Not my time. Not my time.

VK: What is it like working in the state legislature, Republican-controlled, with a Democratic governor, while also having President Donald Trump in office?

MF: Interesting. Interesting.

VK: Why do you say that?

MF: Sometimes it’s like, okay, governor, you don’t like what our president’s doing. It’s kind of like karma because we don’t like what you’re doing. So you get to feel that frustration. But it also, it’s challenging at times also. Seeing that the federal government is handing down regulations, and then that affects how we do things, and then watching our governor push back, it gets frustrating. Where as if the governor would work better with the federal government, it would make our jobs easier.

VK: Are there any particular instances that pop out to you in your head?

MF: Well, our attorney general is suing. They won’t turn over a lot of Medicaid data that the federal government is asking for. And they’re like, well, ‘they don’t need that.’ Well, we’re now seeing there’s fraud in other states. There could be fraud in Wisconsin. Well, why wouldn’t we want to clean that up? You know, why do we want fraud in any programs? Give them the data, let them go through it. If there’s nothing wrong, why wouldn’t we give them the data?

Click here to download the WSAW news app or WSAW First Alert weather app.

Click here to submit a news tip or story idea.

Copyright 2025 WMTV. All rights reserved.