The Wisconsin State Assembly will convene several times in March, twice next week on Tuesday, March 16 and Wednesday, March 17. Our main focus on the first session day is the health and well-being of Wisconsinites. Some of the bills may sound familiar as the Assembly approved many of them at the end of the last biennial session, which ended abruptly due to the pandemic.

Here are four of the important bills that will come before the Assembly:
Assembly Bill 7 requires Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) to be licensed with the state through the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI). It provides greater transparency to consumers and puts safeguards in place to protect local pharmacies. These much-needed, bipartisan reforms will help put drug price protections in place for consumers and hopefully, generate better health outcomes.

Assembly Bill 34 guarantees individuals with preexisting conditions are covered by their insurance. The language in the bill is codified in federal law but should changes happens at the federal level, this legislation provides an added layer of assurance and protection.

Assembly Bill 120 ensures that the COVID-19 vaccine can be distributed from a Wisconsin company to other states. The bill creates a third-party logistics provider license to allow Pfizer in Pleasant Prairie to send the vaccine kits to California. It helps a Wisconsin business to fulfill its mission and deliver vaccines safely to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Senate Bill 13 is a common sense change that allows dentist to administer certain vaccines, including the coronavirus vaccine. Having more vaccinators to help get shots in the arm is beneficial for everyone today and in the future.

These bills have already received bipartisan support. I look forward to their final passage and the governor signing them into law.