MON AM News: Circulating bill would create tax credit for IVF costs; Legislation would create school lunch butter requirement

November 10, 2025

— Republican lawmakers are circulating a bill to create an income tax credit that would help offset the costs of in vitro fertilization in Wisconsin.

Sen. Howard Marklein of Spring Green and Rep. Jessie Rodriguez of Oak Creek last week sent the co-sponsorship memo to other lawmakers, seeking support for establishing an IVF tax credit.

They note more women are using IVF to become pregnant, pointing to data showing the number of babies born from this method in the United States rose to 95,850 in 2023. That makes up 2.6% of all U.S. births for that year, according to the memo. At the same time, the number of IVF cycles is on the rise, going from about 390,000 in 2022 to more than 430,000 in 2023.

But bill authors note IVF isn’t cheap, with a single cycle typically ranging from $15,000 to $20,000, and rising to $30,000 in some cases. Plus, about two and a half cycles are needed to become pregnant on average, the memo shows.

“This bill will hopefully make it easier for more families to be able to bring precious little lives into this world and build strong families here in Wisconsin,” authors wrote.

It would establish a nonrefundable income tax credit for unreimbursed costs paid for consultations, procedures and prescribed drugs that are “directly related” to IVF, capped at $5,000 for a given tax year.

The tax credit would only be available for individuals with $100,000 or less in adjusted gross income or $200,000 or less for married couples filing a joint return. Authors say this income limit will ensure the credit helps those most in need of support.

The credit couldn’t be claimed for costs paid through a health savings account, medical savings account, or similar program, the Legislative Reference Bureau notes in its overview on the bill. It also wouldn’t cover insurance coverage, travel mileage or lodging, LRB wrote.

The co-sponsorship deadline is 5 p.m. Thursday.

See the bill text.

— Another bill from GOP lawmakers would prevent Wisconsin schools from serving margarine as a substitute for butter in school lunches.

Rep. Todd Novak of Dodgeville and Sen. Howard Marklein of Spring Green note state statute already bars restaurants from swapping butter out for margarine unless it’s specifically ordered by the customer.

In a statement on the proposed change, Novak said he was “shocked” to recently hear a local school was no longer serving butter in school lunches in favor of an “artificial alternative with a long list” of ingredients. He argues these alternatives are less healthy.

Meanwhile, Marklein says serving margarine instead of butter is “unacceptable,” especially in a farming community.

“This common-sense legislation recognizes the hard work of our farmers and aligns our school districts with this provision in state law,” he said.

Under the legislation, schools would be prevented from serving margarine as a butter substitute in school lunches and from using it instead of butter in preparing these lunches. It would allow students’ parents or guardians to request an exception as well.

Bill authors say they plan to formally introduce the legislation later this month.

See more in the release.

— Legislation from Dem authors would repeal an earlier legislative change that restricted health officials’ ability to shut down businesses during a disease outbreak.

Reps. Mike Bare of Verona, Randy Udell of Fitchburg and Maureen McCarville of DeForest, as well as Sen. Dianne Hesselbein of Middleton, on Friday sent a co-sponsorship memo to other lawmakers seeking support for the bill.

It would end restrictions established through 2023 Wisconsin Act 12 that prevent local health officers from closing businesses in order to control a disease outbreak or epidemic for more than 30 days with the option for an extension. That’s according to an overview from the Legislative Reference Bureau.

The bill authors said getting rid of these restrictions would “allow our local officers to continue doing their vital jobs” protecting the public.

“Following the recent COVID-19 pandemic, we saw how important it is to give health experts the trust and autonomy they need to protect us,” they wrote in the memo.

The co-sponsorship deadline is 5 p.m. Nov. 21.

See the bill text.

— Exact Sciences has released new data showing its Oncoguard liver cancer blood test is better at detecting the disease than the current standard ultrasound approach.

The Madison-based diagnostics company is touting findings from the ALTUS study, focused on the Oncoguard Liver test’s ability to detect hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of liver cancer. The study is the largest prospective real-world trial of this kind of blood test in the country, with more than 3,000 participants enrolled, according to the company.

Based on a framework called the Milan criteria — used to reference eligibility for a curative liver transplant — Exact Sciences’ test detected three times more early-stage cancers compared to an ultrasound.

The study found the test’s “very early-stage” sensitivity for liver cancer was 64%, compared to 9% for ultrasound. And its early-stage sensitivity was 77%, versus 36% for ultrasound. The test’s ability to detect the absence of live cancer was also good enough for clinical application, the release notes.

Dr. Binu John, principal investigator for the ALTUS trial and an associate professor at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, notes ultrasound surveillance has been the standard for detecting liver cancer for decades. But this approach delivers poor image quality and “inconsistent” follow-up care, John notes, translating to lower rates of detecting cancer.

“A highly sensitive blood-based alternative like Oncoguard Liver is a game changer that could make liver cancer screening more accessible, equitable, and effective for millions of at-risk patients,” John said in a statement.

The data will be presented next week at a meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. Exact Sciences also plans to publish the results in a peer-reviewed journal.

See the release.

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— Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative has announced a new program to help farmers reduce emissions, offering data tracking and other help.

The Green Bay-based co-op recently launched the EmPower+ program alongside Farmers for Sustainable Food, an industry-backed nonprofit focused on environmental concerns.

It’s meant for both farms and processor groups, collecting data for both to use. While farmers can leverage the information to understand their environmental impact and advance emissions reduction efforts, processors can use the data to meet reporting requirements and demonstrate reductions in greenhouse gases.

Tim Trotter, CEO of Edge and the affiliate Farmers for Sustainable Food, says sustainability programs have often taken a “one-size-fits-all” approach, failing to mesh with the complexity of operating a dairy farm.

“Our goal is to give farmers the tools and metrics they need to deliver verified reductions in greenhouse gas emissions for the industry,” he said in a statement.

See the release and see more on the program.

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