Wisconsin Senate Bill SB1103

Wisconsin 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 3/12/26
• Refer: 3/12/26
• Failed: 3/23/26

Caption

An Act to amend 40.51 (8), 40.51 (8m), 66.0137 (4), 120.13 (2) (g) and 185.983 (1) (intro.); to create 609.40 and 632.7498 of the statutes; Relating to: special enrollment period for pregnancy.

Summary

SB1103 would create a new special enrollment period for pregnancy in Wisconsin health coverage law. It requires health benefit plans and self-insured health plans to let a pregnant individual, and any family member eligible through that individual, enroll at any time during the pregnancy. Coverage must begin no later than the first day of the first calendar month in which the pregnancy is medically verified, though the pregnant individual may choose a later month during the pregnancy for coverage to start. The bill also requires insurers offering group health coverage to notify applicants about this pregnancy-related enrollment opportunity when they are first offered enrollment. In addition to creating a new statute, the bill amends multiple existing provisions governing state employee plans, local government self-insured plans, school district plans, and certain nonprofit cooperative health plans so that those plans are subject to the new pregnancy enrollment rule. The bill would take effect four months after publication, with delayed applicability for plans affected by collective bargaining agreements and for existing policy or plan years.

Impact

SB1103 would expand Wisconsin insurance and employee-benefit law by adding s. 632.7498 and related cross-references across several statutes governing state, municipal, school district, and nonprofit health plans. It would impose a uniform pregnancy-based special enrollment requirement on a broad range of health coverage arrangements, including self-insured governmental plans and certain preferred provider or defined network plans, and would require notice of the new enrollment right. The practical effect would be to broaden access to coverage during pregnancy and to require plan administrators and insurers to update enrollment materials, procedures, and compliance practices.

Sentiment

The available context suggests the bill was generally framed as a coverage-expansion and consumer-protection measure, with no recorded committee transcript debate or roll-call votes provided. Its purpose appears straightforward and policy-driven: to reduce gaps in coverage during pregnancy and ensure timely access to insurance for pregnant individuals and their dependents. The bill ultimately failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1, so while the policy direction appears supportive of expanded access, it did not advance into law.

Contention

The main point of potential contention is the mandate imposed on insurers and self-insured plans, especially because it applies to a wide set of public and quasi-public plans and may require administrative changes to enrollment systems and notices. Another likely issue is the interaction with collective bargaining agreements, since the bill delays applicability for plans covered by inconsistent labor contracts until those agreements are renewed or modified. No specific opponents or supporters are identified in the provided record, and no committee testimony is available to show detailed objections, but the statutory compliance burden and labor-contract timing are the most apparent areas of dispute.