Failed Health Care Bills May Not be Dead Yet in Wyoming

One bill would have widened the eligibility requirements for the Wyoming children’s health insurance program, called Kid Care.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Mike Massie, D-Laramie, would have added as many as 3,700 children to the nearly 5,600 currently enrolled.

Massie said children with access to health care are more likely to be higher achievers in school and are less likely to turn to drugs and alcohol.

“The younger the child is, or the longer they go in life without health care, the more detrimental the impacts,” Massie said.

Massie attributed the bill’s failure, in part, to a misunderstanding about the program and changes the legislation would have made to it. But, he said he would consider reintroducing the bill during the upcoming budget session with sufficient public and legislative support.

Another bill would have created a pilot program to provide access to coverage for uninsured working adults who couldn’t afford insurance on the open market.

Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper, spearheaded the legislation, which made it further this session than it has before.

Scott said a bumpy introduction in the House and a tight year for state finances were to blame for the bill’s failure. But Scott said he plans on sponsoring a form of the legislation in a future session.

Scott said he continues to focus on health care reform in response to public demand.

“What I’m hearing from the people that elect me is health care is a major problem—probably the most important thing that government does,” Scott said.

Health care affordability and access to doctors are the two main roadblocks for many Wyomingites, Scott said.

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