Media Contact(s): Ana Marchese, Jan Cartwright
Title: Healthy Wyo Director, Healthy Wyo Deputy Director
Email: ana@healthywyoming.org, cartwright.jan@yahoo.com
Phone: (307) 205-9418
Capitol Rally urges Medicaid expansion in Wyoming
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – This Tuesday, lawmakers were welcomed to their first day of the 2023 Legislative Session with speeches, stories, and chanting in support of Medicaid expansion. A rally on the steps of the Capitol brought together residents from across the state, seeking to show legislators that the campaign to offer affordable healthcare for 19,000 more Wyomingites is as strong as ever.
House Bill 80–Medical treatment opportunity act-Medicaid reform, sponsored by the Joint Interim Revenue Committee, would expand healthcare coverage to an estimated 19,000 low-income Wyomingites.
Healthy Wyoming, a statewide coalition of organizations and agencies, leads the efforts to pass Medicaid expansion.
“Our coalition is growing; our movement just keeps getting stronger. Too many Wyomingites urgently need accessible healthcare for us to stop working to expand Medicaid,” said Healthy Wyoming Executive Director Ana Marchese.
Marchese also noted that Medicaid expansion has economic benefits for the whole state. “Our hospitals urgently need this measure to reduce the burden of unpaid emergency room visits. Our economy needs better coverage for employees, and we know that healthier employees mean stronger businesses. Expanding Medicaid is an absolute necessity in fighting the mental health crisis in Wyoming.”
These reasons are why, Marchese said, the Healthy Wyoming coalition continues to grow and pursue its goal.
Healthy Wyoming is a broad coalition of Wyoming groups working together toward the goal of expanding Medicaid. They include the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, Better Wyoming, Equality State Policy Center, National Alliance on Mental Illness – Wyoming, Wyoming Association of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers, Wyoming Community Foundation, Wyoming Hospital Association, Wyoming Medical Society, Wyoming Primary Care Association, Wyoming Women’s Foundation, and many others. For more information, visit healthywyoming.org.
