Issue Position: Medicaid Expansion

Issue Position

It's more than a fiscal decision, it's a moral decision as well!

I support Medicaid Expansion for numerous reasons. In an effort to keep my reasoning short, the top 3 reasons are
1) The Economy
2) The fiscal impacts
3) It's the right thing to do.
The Economy --
Wyoming is taking care of the citizens that this coverage would expand to, regardless of our action at the State Legislature. The problem with this is, the hospitals in our communities are providing the care, but they are not being reimbursed for the care they are providing. This is causing a burden that will soon be insurmountable by many of the State's hospitals. If we allow our hospitals to fail, we lose the opportunity to attract new businesses to these communities that would otherwise be capable of supporting new business. No business wants to bring their employees to a community with no hospital, and when this happens, we lose economic growth.
The fiscal Impacts --
If our citizens are not covered by this expansion, they will leave our state and reduce our tax base. We want to keep Wyoming's citizens in Wyoming and this is one way we can do so. There is an estimated $268 million at stake and in this crucial time of budget reductions for our state, this money will assist the state and our economy. Our state has the capability of expanding Medicaid, which is currently funded at 50 federal / 50 state to a 95 federal /5 state split. This is a major coverage shift and allows 20,000 Wyomingites coverage that would otherwise not be available to them.
The Right thing to do --
Your neighbor, friend, cousin, or any other person in your life that lives in Wyoming could potentially benefit from this expansion. Because of the inaction up to this point, we have lost millions of dollars of funding for these families. I am not willing to watch our tax dollars leave this state and fund other states that have opted to expand Medicaid. We have families, children, and individuals here in Wyoming that can benefit from our raised healthcare premiums. Let us stop sending our money to other states and take care of Wyoming!

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