Voters in Eau Claire and La Crosse Approves Referendums on Healthcare Access and Affordability

Sunday, November 15th, 2026 -- 10:00 AM

(Hope Kirwan, Wisconsin Public Radio) Voters in La Crosse and Eau Claire approved referendums last week to take action on healthcare access and affordability in their communities.

According to Hope Kirwan with Wisconsin Public Radio, both cities will now have Citizens’ Advisory Healthcare Action Committees, which are tasked with “collecting public testimony, reviewing data, and evaluating policy impacts” around health care accessibility.

The committees will develop a Healthcare Action Plan every other year, making “recommendations for concrete actions” to the city’s federal, state and local elected officials. The nearly identical committees were created through Wisconsin’s law allowing direct legislation, where voters can use a petition to put a proposed ordinance or resolution before voters without alteration by a common council or village board.

Advocacy group Community Action Wisconsin led the drive to put the referendums on the November ballots in both cities. Nicholas Padesky, the group’s referenda campaign manager, said the effort was started by residents who were “sick of seeing the lack of movement in D.C. as well as Madison” to address rising healthcare costs.

“(It’s) folks who are incredibly frustrated with the lack of effort being made by Republicans in Congress and the Wisconsin state Legislature, but also just hearing from so many of our neighbors, myself included, who saw enormous jumps in their premiums, particularly for people who are on (Health Insurance Marketplace) plans,” Padesky said.

Ahead of the election, Padesky’s group specifically called out Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany and U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who represents the two cities in Congress, for last year’s cuts to Medicaid and Medicare and the end of expanded marketplaces subsidies.

Both candidates lost their races in last Tuesday’s election as voters across the state and country overwhelmingly supported Democrats. While voters may be looking to bring down costs, the new committees will have no authority to change many of the factors affecting healthcare.

Padesky acknowledged the local committee’s limitations. But he thinks there is more that city officials can do to hold state and federal lawmakers accountable.

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