Want quality health care? Then urge lawmakers to fund the Wyoming Department of Health

I get how the Wyoming Legislature’s budget session could sound boring, but for me, the budget bill is one of the most important things in my life. I watch the budget process closely because programs that are critical to my livelihood, my family and my community are on the line.

My son is disabled, and he is on the Developmental Disability Waiver with Wyoming Medicaid. This program means a lot of things for my family. Because it ensures my son can receive professional support outside the home that gives him some independence away from me. It also gives me peace of mind that there are good people taking care of him when I can’t.

The program gives me independence, too, and the ability to work. It would be extremely difficult to keep a job without the support I get. I am a hard-working single mom, but I would never be able to afford the kind of care that my son receives, even with insurance.

I also work as a “wraparound provider” for the Children’s Mental Health Waiver under Wyoming Medicaid. My job involves helping families navigate complex systems to make sure their children receive behavioral health support. I see firsthand how important these services are to families.

Both of these programs are funded by the Legislature through the Department of Health, and both are potentially on the chopping block as lawmakers look to defund public health and put money away into savings.

During the Legislature’s 2024 session, funding for the Department of Health will be one of the biggest questions lawmakers face on the budget. The main issue will be whether they restore state funding for the agency that was cut in 2021 and has been temporarily filled in by federal pandemic relief funds that are now going away. 

There is a great need for these programs that give families like mine a lifeline when we need it the most. But they are not the only programs in the budget that Wyomingites rely on. 

Ninety percent of the Department of Health’s budget is “passed through” to local communities across the state in the form of provider reimbursements and direct programs and services.

For instance, one in three births in the state is covered by Medicaid, and these new moms depend on health coverage from the extended postpartum program passed by the Legislature last year. Funding for that comes from the Department of Health’s budget.

The Department of Health budget also includes funding for the state’s new “988” suicide hotline, which saves lives, as well as for community mental health centers, which are often the only places to go for counseling help in rural parts of the state. It funds long-term care for seniors, programs that train new Wyoming doctors and nurses, and lots more.

I spend lots of time talking to people about health care as an organizer for Better Wyoming, a statewide nonprofit that identifies common problems people face across Wyoming and advocates for solutions.

Better Wyoming spent five months in 2023 gathering input from nearly 500 people via online surveys, phone and text banking about the biggest health care issues they face. We also held three in-person health summits in Cheyenne, Casper and Lander.

We identified four issues folks agree are major priorities when it comes to health care in Wyoming: affordability, lack of health care providers, access to mental health treatment, and the long distances to care coupled with the lack of transportation. 

Each one of these issues is big and complex, without a silver-bullet solution. But each would be made worse if lawmakers choose to defund our state Health Department.

Last year, the Legislature put a record $1.4 billion into savings. This year, lawmakers have at their disposal close to another half billion as a budget surplus.

There is no reason to cut programs that improve health care access in our state. Lawmakers need to give taxpayers what we pay for in the form of quality services that we need.

One great way to do that is to fully fund the Wyoming Department of Health.