AFTON – Medicaid expansion featured heavily in discussion at the interim’s first Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Committee on Monday, May 1. While discussing a proposal for a Wyoming Healthcare Authority — an idea that goes back to the 1990s in Wyoming — several members of the committee suggested the goal of such an authority might be to expand Medicaid, something that was strongly refuted by those supporting the Healthcare Authority, including the Governor’s health policy advisor, Jen Davis.

“We suspect this topic came up so quickly because elected officials know that Wyomingites overwhelmingly support closing the coverage gap and yet are determined to defy their constituents’ clear support for Medicaid expansion,” said Jan Cartwright, founding board member of Healthy Wyoming referencing a poll from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. That poll showed Wyomingites support expanding Medicaid by a 2:1 margin.

Cartwright explained, “Nearly everyone in the state knows someone who can’t access healthcare because they fall into the gap — and they want their family, friends and neighbors to be healthy.”

Wyoming remains one of only 10 states that has not expanded Medicaid.

As a result, tens of thousands of Wyomingites have no access at all to coverage. They cannot qualify for subsidies on the marketplace and work in a job that does not provide health insurance. According to enrollment projections from the Wyoming Department of Health, most are working people: “Approximately 56 percent will be employed, 35 percent will not be in the labor force (e.g., retired or not looking for work), and 8 percent will be unemployed (and actively looking for work).”

In their most recent report on Medicaid expansion, WDH writes, “In terms of age and sex, we characterize the Medicaid expansion population as having two broad groups:

• A group of younger (< 35 years old) people, making up an estimated 45 percent (40-49 percent) of the total enrollees. This population will largely (~60 percent) be female.

• An older (over 50 years old) group of enrollees, making up an estimated 30 percent (26-35 percent) of the expansion group.”

“People across Wyoming have full-time jobs but don’t have access to the tools to get the care and coverage they need. At Healthy Wyoming, we hear those stories all the time, unfortunately,” said Cartwright, referring to the recent spate of disenrollments that have left thousands of Wyomingites without coverage post-pandemic.

Cartwright ended on an optimistic note. “The evidence from 40 other states shows exactly how beneficial Medicaid expansion is—for everything from small business to state budgets. And, of course, for people. We know expanding Medicaid is the right choice for Wyoming—and so do our elected leaders.”

Healthy Wyoming is a 501(c)3 nonprofit with a broad coalition focused on expanding the Medicaid health insurance program in Wyoming. With over two dozen organizational members and thousands of individual supporters, the coalition works towards a goal of ensuring health coverage for every Wyomingite. For more information visit healthywyoming.org.