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The following program is a
PBS Wisconsin original

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production.
>> A strong Republican

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majority here, passing a
good budget for the state of

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Wisconsin and looking
forward to the governor

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signing it.
>> After months of stop and

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go negotiations.
>> Clerk will open the roll.

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[MUSIC]
>> The legislature swiftly

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passes the state budget, and
Governor Evers signs it soon

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after. Good evening. I'm
Zach Schultz, filling in for

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Frederica Freyberg tonight
on "Here& Now". Governor

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Tony Evers joins us to
discuss the final passage of

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the state's biennial budget.
Then, after 30 years on the

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Wisconsin Supreme Court,
retiring Justice Ann Walsh

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Bradley reflects on her
career. And we look at what

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happens when you can't
afford your prescription

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medication. In our series
uncovered. It's "Here& Now"

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for July 11th.
>> Funding for Here and Now

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is provided by the Focus
Fund for Journalism and

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Friends of PBS Wisconsin.
>> Wisconsin has a new state

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budget signed in the dead of
night last week by Governor

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Tony Evers. It's the first
budget to have bipartisan

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support since 2007. Joining
us now is Governor Evers.

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And thanks for your time,
sir.

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>> So this has additional
funding for special

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education child care
providers and the UW system

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in exchange for tax cuts. It
sounds like it's an actual

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compromise budget.
>> Yeah, I would say it was.

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And I'm glad it was that way
myself. Over the last year

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or so, a couple of years, I
get out and talk to people

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all the time. That's what I
spend most of my time doing.

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And all across the state, I
heard that a lot. You know,

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the idea that it'd be great
that, you know, everybody

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knows we're a purple state,
that we actually do work on

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compromise. And so we were
able to do that. We had some

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wins and some things that
didn't. But I guess that's

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kind of the way the politics
work. If you're if you're a

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purple state like Wisconsin.
>> Now let's go back to the

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last budget where you used
your veto pen to create an

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ongoing $325 per pupil
increase in public

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education. But that increase
isn't funded in this budget.

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And property taxes will
taxpayers will pay for it if

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the school districts decide
to levy that amount that

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they can. Was that a
priority for you to try and

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get Republicans to fund
that, or were there just too

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many other places for the
money?

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We wanted both, obviously,
but at the at the end of the

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day, we, you know, we put
together a package that was

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I want to say it's $1.4
billion in spendable money.

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And also as you likely
remember, part of the

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problem in the past was the
amount of money that school

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districts had to backfill
into special education. And

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so now that is less of an
issue for them. And so we

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put we have the largest
increase ever in, in, in

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that arena. And so I think
it was a good start. Is it

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solving all the problems.
No. And that's the nature of

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working with the
legislature. And you know,

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we're a purple state. And so
we're not going to get

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everything. But it was a
good start. We had good

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starts in several areas. But
education we were we made

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some huge increases in, in
in the money for special

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education. That helps out in
a couple different areas. Is

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it solving every problem?
No, but it was a step

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forward. Yes.
>> Now negotiations with

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Republicans stopped and
started a few times

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throughout this process. And
at one point it looked like

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they were going to go their
own way as they've done the

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last few budgets. What were
out to them? Were you

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waiting for them to figure
out them and come back to

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the table?
>> That it was a ladder?

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Clearly the two houses
weren't on the same page.

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And after a while that
became less of an issue. And

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so they came back and we
ended up solving it. And,

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you know, we had some really
significant wins. Also. I,

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you know, I know the
importance of having, you

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know, both sides having some
wins, having, you know, some

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things didn't work. But for
example, our ability to get

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more money for our hospitals
in the state of Wisconsin,

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that was huge. That was a
win. That was a complete win.

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And because, as you likely
remember, we had two

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hospitals in Eau Claire
closed in one, you know, one

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year. And this keeps our
hospitals all across the

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state in a much better
place.

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>> Now, one reason
Republicans did need to

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compromise. You talked about
the difference in the houses

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is the Senate couldn't
afford to lose any votes in

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the Republican Party, and
that's because Democrats

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picked up seats in the last
election. So how much does

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redistricting play into what
happened in this budget?

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>> Absolutely. This budget
would not have looked

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anywhere near as positive if
it if it wasn't for that,

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having good maps that are
reflective of actually what

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happens on the ground, that
was huge. And so we'll and

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we'll, we'll continue to do
a good job as far as taking

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not taking advantage of it,
but actually reflecting

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that. But you know, from my
side to, from the Democratic

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side, just because we are we
have better maps doesn't

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mean that we can run
roughshod over the other

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side either. It just won't
work. We're we're as purple

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as they come in our state as
compared to other states,

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and we recognize that.
>> Let's talk about the

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Donald Trump's b-b-b big,
beautiful bill. What will be

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the impact of that bill in
Wisconsin?

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>> Yeah, I don't think it's
going to be good. You know,

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clearly, issues that they
feel strongly about is not

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necessarily good for
Wisconsin passing this bill

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kind of makes them all
legal. I think in the past

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there was some concern that
on my part and others that

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what was what was happening
in the new administration

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was very difficult and
frankly, not shouldn't have

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been able to do that because
the Congress has not weighed

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in. Well, they've weighed in
now. And so all those things

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that that we were against,
that were happening,

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happened. And so, yes, I
think it's going to be it's

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going to be a really
difficult time for us. And,

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you know, whether it's
schools, whether it's just

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about anything, you know,
I'm sure we'll have

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thousands of people in
Wisconsin that no longer

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have the health care. They
they had before.

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>> One area that's still up
is your corrections plan. As

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far as the prisons, you
vetoed the deadline to close

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the green Bay facility. Can
you use the experience

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negotiating the bill, the
budget, to figure out how to

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negotiate that plan?
>> Yeah, absolutely. We

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should. And we have to. I
mean, we green Bay is going

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to close. I get that whether
it's in 2029 or whenever it

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is closing. But in order to
allow that to happen,

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there's all sorts of steps.
We put together a plan

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several months ago, I think
it was a rational plan. And,

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you know, there are some
people that want to do

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different things. But the
start. It's like a dance. We

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have to do this first and
then this first and this

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first. I'm willing to talk
to any, any Republican, any

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Democrat on this issue. We
just have to get it done. Do

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I think we will? Yes. We
have to.

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>> It's tradition for the
governor to wait until after

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the budget is signed to
announce whether they'll run

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for another term. What is
the timeline for your

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decision, and do you have
any announcements you'd like

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to make today?
any.

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>> Today, but I'll tell you
it'll happen shortly. I

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would say a week or so.
>> All right, governor Tony

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Evers, thanks for your time
today.

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>> Appreciate it.
>> The Wisconsin Supreme

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Court has completed its term
by releasing decisions in a

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number of high profile
cases, including A43

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decision to overturn
Wisconsin's 1849 abortion

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ban. The end of the term
also means the end of the

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career of chief Justice Ann
Walsh. Bradley, who decided

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to retire after 30 years on
the High Court. I sat down

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with the Chief justice
recently to discuss her

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career and the future of the
court. Madam Chief Justice,

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thanks for your time.
>> Pleasure to be here.

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Zach.
>> Let's go back to the

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start. Can you imagine what
yourself in 1995 would think

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of where you are today, all
these years later?

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>> Well, it's been a journey
and the journey, of course,

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has been traveled by me. But
with surrounded by family

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and friends and colleagues.
To answer your question, I

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don't think I would have
seen myself as I am today.

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30 years ago. That's right.
>> So Shirley Abrahamson was

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the first woman appointed to
the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

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But you were the first
elected. How far have we

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come in that? It's been
mostly women on the court

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today, and most people in
the modern era. This think

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of it's natural for women to
sit on the bench.

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>> Well, it's been we've
come a long ways. You know,

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that's a perhaps a worn out
phrase, but it holds some

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truth to it. When I got on
the circuit court in

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Marathon County, there were
only ten women judges in the

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entire state, and I was one
of three north of Madison.

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And Milwaukee. When I became
an attorney and went to

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Wausau, I remember that very
first day being welcomed by

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my supervisor with this, he
said, I want you to know I

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have no problem with a woman
trying to do a man's job. So

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it has been a journey from
the first days of being an

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attorney and then being a
circuit court judge. And

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till now we have six of the
seven members on our court

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are serving as women. So
that's a that's a long way.

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>> So it was just a couple
of years ago, the night that

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Janet Protasiewicz was
elected to be a member of

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the court. I happened to
interview you, and I said,

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you're up next. Have you
thought about whether you

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want to run? And you told
me, I'm going to run and I'm

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going to win.
>> Yes.

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>> Take us from that moment
to your decision that this

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was going to be the end of
your time on the bench.

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>> It was a difficult
decision. A decision that

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took me many months. I had
engaged services of someone

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who was going to be helping
me run the campaign. But

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ultimately, as I reflected,
I made lists of as most

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people or many people would
do of yes, I want to run or

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no, I should not run. And
the it was just time to pass

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the torch. I've been on the
court for 30 years, I'm told

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I have participated in
28,000 cases. 2400 oral

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arguments, 600 or so
opinions. And it was time to

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pass the torch to begin a
new chapter of my life. I

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don't look at this as
retirement because I have a

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number of things I want to
do and accomplish, but it's

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a new chapter.
>> When you first ran for

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the court, there wasn't
nearly the public attention,

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certainly not the money or
even the partisan

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involvement. You ran as a
nonpartisan and criticize

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accepting endorsements from
from conservative

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politicians. How how do you
view the elections that

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occur today? Even your
successor had to court the

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Democratic Party received
millions in fundraising. And

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yet has to try and claim
judicial independence when

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she takes the robes. How has
that altered how the

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justices see themselves and
how the public sees the

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court?
>> In 1995, when I ran that

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first race, I had as my
co-chairs, Tony Earl, who

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was the former Democratic
governor, and Sue Ann

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Thompson, who was the then
first lady. Her husband,

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Tommy Thompson, serving as
my co-chairs. I had strong

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bipartisan support, and I've
had strong bipartisan

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support in all of my
campaigns. But it's harder

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to get this is labeled as a
nonpartisan race. It's in

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April, right? That's when we
have the nonpartisan

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elections. And I am
concerned about the influx

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of partisanship in judicial
races. That's of great

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concern to me because I
think that it has a couple

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of effects. Number one, it
has an effect on the public

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trust and confidence in an
independent judiciary. And

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being independent not only
in substance but also in

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impression is important for
the public trust and

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00:13:22,302 --> 00:13:25,405
confidence of the people. So
I think the influx of

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00:13:25,472 --> 00:13:30,377
political parties and the
great amount of money is of

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00:13:30,944 --> 00:13:33,113
concern.
>> The legal landscape

229
00:13:33,180 --> 00:13:36,183
surrounding the court has
changed as well. The amount

230
00:13:36,250 --> 00:13:39,419
of groups that exist only to
file lawsuits with the best

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00:13:39,486 --> 00:13:42,422
hand-picked cases and
plaintiffs involved in order

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00:13:42,489 --> 00:13:46,159
to find a crack in precedent
to overturn something. How

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00:13:46,226 --> 00:13:49,296
how does that change how you
react from the bench when

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00:13:49,363 --> 00:13:51,765
you know that this was, you
know, hand-selected just in

235
00:13:51,832 --> 00:13:55,235
order to try and reach the
opposite conclusion?

236
00:13:55,302 --> 00:13:58,539
>> Your question brings to
mind something my husband

237
00:13:58,605 --> 00:14:02,609
once said to me, because I
mentioned, you know, being

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00:14:02,676 --> 00:14:07,181
involved in 28,000 cases and
all the oral arguments. He

239
00:14:07,247 --> 00:14:10,784
said, well, hasn't it all
been decided already? You

240
00:14:10,851 --> 00:14:15,656
know, there are so many
cases, but the answer is no.

241
00:14:15,722 --> 00:14:20,194
I get thrilled by the
presence of good arguments

242
00:14:20,928 --> 00:14:25,899
and good attorneys because
they really help the court

243
00:14:25,966 --> 00:14:29,837
develop the law. And when
new arguments are brought

244
00:14:29,903 --> 00:14:34,374
up, then we take a look at
the issue in the way it's

245
00:14:34,942 --> 00:14:39,546
framed, citing different
cases and different issues.

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00:14:39,613 --> 00:14:42,482
>> Do you support change in
the Constitution to

247
00:14:42,549 --> 00:14:47,154
eliminate elections or alter
elections, or you talked

248
00:14:47,221 --> 00:14:49,289
about what other states do?
There's a lot of options out

249
00:14:49,356 --> 00:14:53,694
there. Do you have a
proposal that you would

250
00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:57,531
any proposal that I support,
but I do support looking at

251
00:14:57,598 --> 00:15:01,368
all sorts of different
options. As I know, groups

252
00:15:01,435 --> 00:15:05,839
and legislators are doing
right now because we have a

253
00:15:05,906 --> 00:15:10,043
challenge before us. And the
challenge is to make the

254
00:15:10,110 --> 00:15:14,882
selection of justices and
the campaigns. If we

255
00:15:14,948 --> 00:15:18,552
continue with campaigns,
better not for the sake of

256
00:15:18,619 --> 00:15:22,556
making a campaign better,
but for the sake of the 5.8

257
00:15:22,623 --> 00:15:27,628
million people who call
Wisconsin home, they deserve

258
00:15:28,529 --> 00:15:32,766
a judiciary, that they have
trust and confidence in.

259
00:15:32,833 --> 00:15:36,136
>> How might that have
changed you becoming a

260
00:15:36,203 --> 00:15:39,740
member of the Supreme Court?
Because back in 1995, you

261
00:15:39,806 --> 00:15:42,776
may not have been either
selected to become on a list

262
00:15:42,843 --> 00:15:46,046
or appointed to this
process. You had to push

263
00:15:46,113 --> 00:15:50,117
your way onto it.
>> That's right. And about

264
00:15:50,918 --> 00:15:55,856
three weeks ago, I was on an
international webinar

265
00:15:55,923 --> 00:15:59,826
regarding election of
justices around the world.

266
00:15:59,893 --> 00:16:04,431
Now, there are not many
countries that elect their

267
00:16:04,498 --> 00:16:08,502
state supreme court
justices, or however they

268
00:16:08,569 --> 00:16:13,173
divide, whether it's a
province or an area. United

269
00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:17,945
States is one of the few.
And I made the comment then

270
00:16:18,011 --> 00:16:23,016
to this webinar attendees
that I probably wouldn't be

271
00:16:24,418 --> 00:16:29,022
on the Supreme Court if it
were not through election. I

272
00:16:29,089 --> 00:16:32,492
was not one of the favored
people. I mean, I didn't

273
00:16:32,559 --> 00:16:36,897
have inside track
information or path, right?

274
00:16:38,165 --> 00:16:42,402
It was good old fashioned
retail campaigning around

275
00:16:42,469 --> 00:16:47,040
the state. And I won. So I
am not quick to say, let's

276
00:16:47,841 --> 00:16:51,979
get rid of elections. Not at
all. I am quick to say,

277
00:16:52,045 --> 00:16:56,283
let's see how they can
become better. And if we

278
00:16:57,951 --> 00:17:03,156
can't make them what they
should be, then let's look

279
00:17:03,223 --> 00:17:05,492
at other options.
>> Chief Justice Ann Walsh

280
00:17:05,559 --> 00:17:06,660
Bradley, thank you for your
time.

281
00:17:06,727 --> 00:17:08,529
>> Thanks.
>> Zach.

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00:17:09,196 --> 00:17:11,899
>> For decades, the cost of
prescription medication has

283
00:17:11,965 --> 00:17:15,135
been ever increasing. At the
same time, health coverage

284
00:17:15,202 --> 00:17:18,038
for medication has been
decreasing, forcing patients

285
00:17:18,105 --> 00:17:21,141
to make harder decisions
about their health. Over the

286
00:17:21,208 --> 00:17:24,311
next few weeks, we bring you
RX uncovered, a series from

287
00:17:24,378 --> 00:17:27,381
“Here& Now” producer Marissa
Wojcik that dives into the

288
00:17:27,447 --> 00:17:30,284
complex systems driving
these trends and the stories

289
00:17:30,350 --> 00:17:33,554
of patients facing life or
death choices. Our first

290
00:17:33,620 --> 00:17:36,390
story is about a young man
with asthma who suddenly had

291
00:17:36,456 --> 00:17:41,195
to choose between affording
his rent or his medicine.

292
00:17:41,261 --> 00:17:44,531
>> Well, we got told, you
know, just simply that he

293
00:17:44,598 --> 00:17:47,234
would never wake up.
>> Brill and Shanon

294
00:17:47,301 --> 00:17:49,269
Schmidtknecht had just heard
the worst news of their

295
00:17:49,336 --> 00:17:51,872
life.
>> That all I remember is

296
00:17:51,939 --> 00:17:57,277
collapsing on him and the
nurses sliding chairs behind

297
00:17:57,344 --> 00:17:59,413
us.
>> Their oldest son, Kohl,

298
00:17:59,479 --> 00:18:02,816
suffered an asthma attack.
His roommate rushed him to

299
00:18:02,883 --> 00:18:05,886
the ER and his heart stopped
beating two minutes before

300
00:18:05,953 --> 00:18:08,622
they arrived.
>> When he arrived at the

301
00:18:08,689 --> 00:18:12,693
hospital, he was lifeless.
Yeah. No pulse. They had to

302
00:18:12,759 --> 00:18:14,461
resuscitate him.
>> But the prognosis wasn't

303
00:18:14,528 --> 00:18:16,763
good.
>> They were no longer

304
00:18:16,830 --> 00:18:20,100
seeing the brain activity.
They were no longer seeing

305
00:18:20,167 --> 00:18:24,872
any hope that there would be
any type of recovery, that

306
00:18:24,938 --> 00:18:27,641
essentially what we saw
laying in the hospital of

307
00:18:27,708 --> 00:18:31,044
our son was all that he
would ever be.

308
00:18:32,579 --> 00:18:36,016
>> The 22 year old laying in
that hospital just days

309
00:18:36,083 --> 00:18:38,986
earlier was happy and
healthy. Bill and Shannon

310
00:18:39,052 --> 00:18:42,422
were mystified.
>> Yes. When I grab on to

311
00:18:42,489 --> 00:18:45,459
him, like I just couldn't,
you're like, this cannot be

312
00:18:45,526 --> 00:18:47,728
happening.
>> In the days that

313
00:18:47,794 --> 00:18:50,531
followed, Bill and Shannon
watched their son fulfill an

314
00:18:50,597 --> 00:18:53,901
organ donation before
watching him take his final

315
00:18:53,967 --> 00:18:56,303
breath.
>> Kohl had had asthma his

316
00:18:56,370 --> 00:19:00,641
whole life. He was on a
great that stabilized his

317
00:19:00,707 --> 00:19:04,845
asthma for the past decade
or more. So we were like,

318
00:19:04,912 --> 00:19:07,748
this cannot be.
>> Still in shock. They

319
00:19:07,814 --> 00:19:10,751
didn't understand how this
could have happened and why

320
00:19:10,817 --> 00:19:13,253
Kohl didn't have his
medication.

321
00:19:13,320 --> 00:19:15,689
>> I will never forget that
day.

322
00:19:15,756 --> 00:19:19,426
>> Their quest for answers
began as grieving parents.

323
00:19:19,493 --> 00:19:23,530
More than a year later, they
retell Kohl story, hoping

324
00:19:23,597 --> 00:19:25,199
for change.
>> We always felt there was

325
00:19:25,265 --> 00:19:28,268
something that was
unanswered.

326
00:19:28,902 --> 00:19:32,139
was from Cole's best friend
and roommate, who said Cole

327
00:19:32,206 --> 00:19:35,509
did go to the pharmacy days
earlier but couldn't get his

328
00:19:35,576 --> 00:19:38,946
asthma medication refilled.
>> His roommate had said, I

329
00:19:39,012 --> 00:19:42,316
don't know. We tried to get
it a few days ago and he

330
00:19:42,382 --> 00:19:45,986
couldn't afford it. It was
like $500 and we were like,

331
00:19:46,053 --> 00:19:48,822
no, no, no, no. There has to
be like something, something

332
00:19:48,889 --> 00:19:52,059
happened. Like he didn't
give.

333
00:19:52,125 --> 00:19:55,162
managed the same chronic
asthma their whole lives.

334
00:19:55,229 --> 00:19:58,065
They used the same
prescription inhaler and

335
00:19:58,131 --> 00:20:00,634
they worked for the same
company, meaning they had

336
00:20:00,701 --> 00:20:03,504
the same health coverage.
>> Probably a few weeks

337
00:20:03,570 --> 00:20:06,473
later, texted her, say, hey,
can you swing by the

338
00:20:06,540 --> 00:20:08,175
pharmacy and grab my steroid
medicine too?

339
00:20:08,242 --> 00:20:10,878
>> I just remember walking
in and she had it written

340
00:20:10,944 --> 00:20:15,415
down on a piece of paper. No
longer covered by insurance.

341
00:20:15,482 --> 00:20:18,118
She worked her magic and
made a phone call. Even

342
00:20:18,185 --> 00:20:21,388
stayed after they were open
and, you know, did what she

343
00:20:21,455 --> 00:20:24,324
had to do to get something
for me to take home so that

344
00:20:24,391 --> 00:20:27,761
he had something.
>> This was the first

345
00:20:27,828 --> 00:20:29,796
glimpse into what may have
happened in the days leading

346
00:20:29,863 --> 00:20:33,400
up to Cole's death. Health
coverage from the employer

347
00:20:33,467 --> 00:20:37,237
had changed, and with it,
the out-of-pocket cost.

348
00:20:37,304 --> 00:20:40,874
>> They were told
specifically as employees

349
00:20:40,941 --> 00:20:44,378
that it would be a seamless
transition. Pharmacy

350
00:20:44,444 --> 00:20:46,914
benefits would be seamless.
Prescription coverage would

351
00:20:46,980 --> 00:20:49,483
be seamless.
>> The unique thing, though,

352
00:20:49,550 --> 00:20:52,719
is we stayed with the same
pharmacy benefit manager.

353
00:20:52,786 --> 00:20:55,255
>> What did change without
their knowledge was their

354
00:20:55,322 --> 00:20:57,891
prescription benefits
formulary. The list of

355
00:20:57,958 --> 00:21:01,161
preferred drugs covered by
the health plan. These lists

356
00:21:01,228 --> 00:21:05,499
are compiled of name, brand
and generic medications

357
00:21:05,566 --> 00:21:09,336
categorized into tiers. Tier
one is the most preferred by

358
00:21:09,403 --> 00:21:13,307
the plan and has the lowest
co-pays. The higher the

359
00:21:13,373 --> 00:21:17,144
tier, the more the patient
pays out of pocket.

360
00:21:17,211 --> 00:21:19,546
>> I will never forget that
leaving that pharmacy and

361
00:21:19,613 --> 00:21:24,585
being like, oh my God, this
is what happened to Cole.

362
00:21:24,651 --> 00:21:27,855
>> The preventative asthma
medication that Cole relied

363
00:21:27,921 --> 00:21:30,924
upon was moved to a higher
tier that he suddenly could

364
00:21:30,991 --> 00:21:33,794
not afford.
>> We always assume that he

365
00:21:33,861 --> 00:21:36,797
kind of ran some life
choices and said, rent or

366
00:21:36,864 --> 00:21:40,367
this, and thought he could
do without it. Five days

367
00:21:40,434 --> 00:21:44,338
after that, he texted me
that he was having a hard

368
00:21:44,404 --> 00:21:47,241
time breathing.
>> The parallel details

369
00:21:47,307 --> 00:21:50,477
around Bill and Cole's
condition, medication and

370
00:21:50,544 --> 00:21:54,014
health plan helped the
Schmidtknecht understand how

371
00:21:54,081 --> 00:21:57,384
Cole's pharmacy visit
differed from Bill's.

372
00:21:57,451 --> 00:22:01,088
>> The difference is he
didn't have this pharmacist

373
00:22:01,154 --> 00:22:05,192
or any caring independent
pharmacist or whomever to

374
00:22:05,259 --> 00:22:08,529
stop for five seconds.
>> Bill's pharmacist made

375
00:22:08,595 --> 00:22:12,165
sure he got the life saving
medication he needed.

376
00:22:12,232 --> 00:22:15,903
>> She was like, so we got
to figure this out. You're

377
00:22:15,969 --> 00:22:17,304
not leaving here with
nothing for him, for Bill.

378
00:22:17,371 --> 00:22:20,474
>> While no one can know for
sure what happened to Cole

379
00:22:20,541 --> 00:22:23,310
at the pharmacy that day,
many, including bills

380
00:22:23,377 --> 00:22:26,747
pharmacist, are convinced.
>> Honestly, she believes

381
00:22:26,813 --> 00:22:30,184
this is what contributed to
that he didn't get his

382
00:22:30,250 --> 00:22:32,686
medicine. Walking out of the
pharmacy. You know, she she

383
00:22:32,753 --> 00:22:35,589
can't make that judgment for
sure, but she felt that way.

384
00:22:35,656 --> 00:22:38,859
>> And you could tell he was
the love of her life. One

385
00:22:38,926 --> 00:22:42,529
day, him and I were laying
in the yard looking up at

386
00:22:42,596 --> 00:22:47,668
the sky. He looked at me and
said, grandpa, when you eat

387
00:22:47,734 --> 00:22:51,638
the heaven, would you save
me a seat by you?

388
00:22:54,208 --> 00:22:57,311
>> In March, Senate
President Mary Felzkowski

389
00:22:57,377 --> 00:23:00,013
reintroduced legislation
that she and the

390
00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:05,586
Schmidtknecht believe could
medication. At some point,

391
00:23:05,652 --> 00:23:08,155
somebody has to say enough
is enough and put some

392
00:23:08,222 --> 00:23:10,457
guardrails around this.
>> The bill contains a

393
00:23:10,524 --> 00:23:13,260
number of measures aimed at
protecting independent

394
00:23:13,327 --> 00:23:16,263
pharmacies and adding
regulations against pharmacy

395
00:23:16,330 --> 00:23:20,968
benefit managers, or PBMs.
>> PBMs are essentially a

396
00:23:21,034 --> 00:23:24,438
middleman hired by insurance
companies to manage patient

397
00:23:24,505 --> 00:23:27,674
prescription drug benefit
programs. And they're

398
00:23:27,741 --> 00:23:31,512
actually adversely driving
up the cost of drugs and

399
00:23:31,578 --> 00:23:33,380
controlling whether or not
you get the medication

400
00:23:33,447 --> 00:23:36,350
that's been prescribed to
you.

401
00:23:36,416 --> 00:23:39,820
>> Newly dubbed Cole's Act,
this is the third time the

402
00:23:39,887 --> 00:23:42,489
multi-pronged legislation
has been authored.

403
00:23:42,556 --> 00:23:46,126
>> I watched what happened
with the first PBM bill. It

404
00:23:46,193 --> 00:23:48,495
got really stripped down in
the Assembly. We're not

405
00:23:48,562 --> 00:23:50,464
going to allow that to
happen this time around. We

406
00:23:50,531 --> 00:23:54,535
are going to pass meaningful
legislation.

407
00:23:55,068 --> 00:23:58,505
deals specifically with drug
formularies, saying a plan

408
00:23:58,572 --> 00:24:01,708
cannot change a drug's tier
except at the time of

409
00:24:01,775 --> 00:24:05,312
coverage renewal.
Historically, employer and

410
00:24:05,379 --> 00:24:07,548
insurance groups have
opposed this legislation,

411
00:24:07,614 --> 00:24:10,884
fearing it will increase
costs.

412
00:24:10,951 --> 00:24:13,453
>> Marketplace events occur
throughout throughout the

413
00:24:13,520 --> 00:24:17,357
year that impact the price
of prescription drugs by

414
00:24:17,424 --> 00:24:19,860
implementing a frozen
formulary. Payers and plans

415
00:24:19,927 --> 00:24:22,496
will be limited in their
ability to take advantage of

416
00:24:22,563 --> 00:24:25,399
new reduced prices. Generic.
>> We're going to work very

417
00:24:25,465 --> 00:24:28,702
hard on showing them through
data from other states that

418
00:24:28,769 --> 00:24:31,905
have allowed that have the
same legislation, where it's

419
00:24:31,972 --> 00:24:34,641
actually lowered the cost of
health care.

420
00:24:34,708 --> 00:24:37,644
>> I can't believe it's been
almost a year that he's gone.

421
00:24:37,711 --> 00:24:39,947
Yeah, exactly.
>> One year after Cole's

422
00:24:40,013 --> 00:24:42,716
passing, his parents filed a
negligence lawsuit against

423
00:24:42,783 --> 00:24:46,253
the pharmacy benefit manager
and the chain pharmacy where

424
00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:49,623
Cole went to try and pick up
his inhaler. The complaint

425
00:24:49,690 --> 00:24:53,260
says no notification went
out that the formulary had

426
00:24:53,327 --> 00:24:55,863
changed, and the pharmacist
should have offered a

427
00:24:55,929 --> 00:24:59,633
generic alternative. It
lists a number of points of

428
00:24:59,700 --> 00:25:03,770
failure, many of which
violate Wisconsin law. In a

429
00:25:03,837 --> 00:25:07,140
motion to dismiss, the PBM
argues that because Cole's

430
00:25:07,207 --> 00:25:10,711
health plan is what's called
self-funded, these types of

431
00:25:10,777 --> 00:25:13,847
employer sponsored benefits
are not technically health

432
00:25:13,914 --> 00:25:16,083
insurance. They're largely
not subject to state law,

433
00:25:16,149 --> 00:25:19,686
and exclusively a federal
concern.

434
00:25:19,753 --> 00:25:22,456
>> We can't keep waiting for
Washington. My constituents

435
00:25:22,523 --> 00:25:25,592
can't afford to keep waiting
for Washington on a number

436
00:25:25,659 --> 00:25:30,564
of things. And I believe in
states rights. And it's time

437
00:25:30,631 --> 00:25:33,534
that the states need to step
up. You know, we have the

438
00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:36,870
fifth highest health care
costs in the nation. And our

439
00:25:36,937 --> 00:25:39,773
quality does not reflect
that.

440
00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:41,942
>> Congressional committees
and federal agencies have

441
00:25:42,009 --> 00:25:45,512
been sounding some alarm on
practices rampant across the

442
00:25:45,579 --> 00:25:48,782
industry. In January, the
Federal Trade Commission

443
00:25:48,849 --> 00:25:52,419
released its latest report
investigating the top three

444
00:25:52,486 --> 00:25:55,956
PBM companies for inflating
drug prices, saying

445
00:25:56,023 --> 00:26:00,194
UnitedHealth group's Optumrx,
CVS Caremark and Cigna

446
00:26:00,260 --> 00:26:03,330
Express Scripts increased
prices hundreds or thousands

447
00:26:03,397 --> 00:26:08,135
of times over, putting $7.3
billion back into their

448
00:26:08,202 --> 00:26:12,773
pockets from 2017 to 2022.
Amid a complex system.

449
00:26:14,074 --> 00:26:16,410
Cole's parents believe more
should have been done.

450
00:26:16,476 --> 00:26:19,546
>> How will this bill have
saved Cole?

451
00:26:19,613 --> 00:26:21,481
>> I'm going to defer to
Cole's dad for that.

452
00:26:21,548 --> 00:26:26,119
>> The reality is, any
portion of a bill that would

453
00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:29,556
prevent the slowdown at the
pharmacy counter. There's so

454
00:26:29,623 --> 00:26:33,727
many Harry Dunn this. Or had
he went to this type of

455
00:26:33,794 --> 00:26:35,195
pharmacy, the ultimate
thing, no matter what

456
00:26:35,262 --> 00:26:37,297
happens, it was totally
preventable. I mean, like,

457
00:26:37,364 --> 00:26:41,001
it was preventable. Please
don't let another parent

458
00:26:41,068 --> 00:26:44,204
stand where we are today.
>> We've just taken a

459
00:26:44,271 --> 00:26:47,341
totally different look at so
many things in life. It's

460
00:26:47,407 --> 00:26:50,511
all because this cannot
happen. This cannot happen

461
00:26:50,577 --> 00:26:52,946
to another family.
>> Reporting from Poynette.

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00:26:53,013 --> 00:26:56,350
I'm Marissa Wojcik for "Here&
Now".

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00:26:57,184 --> 00:27:01,088
>> For more on this and
other issues facing

464
00:27:01,955 --> 00:27:04,725
at PBS wisconsin.org and
then click on the news tab.

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00:27:04,791 --> 00:27:07,594
That is our program for
tonight. I'm Zac Schultz.

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00:27:07,661 --> 00:27:09,263
Frederica Freyberg will be
back next week. Have a great

467
00:27:09,329 --> 00:27:10,998
weekend.

468
00:27:43,530 --> 00:27:47,034
>> Funding for here and Now
is provided by the Focus

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00:27:47,100 --> 00:27:51,772
Fund for Journalism and
Friends of PBS Wisconsin.