More than three hundred people gathered for candlelight vigils in eight Wyoming cities on a recent chilly Friday evening to remember those who have died due to lack of healthcare.
In city parks, church lawns, on the banks of a creek, a museum plaza and on the steps of the Capitol, they lit candles and shared stories. People who attended the Healthy Wyoming events were from all walks of life, but unified in a grassroots movement to expand Medicaid so at least 24,000 low-income residents will finally have health insurance.
Speakers included clergy members, mothers and fathers, social workers, city and county officials, and frustrated state legislators who support Medicaid expansion but have seen it fail every session over the past decade.
Vigils were held in Cheyenne, Casper, Laramie, Gillette, Sheridan, Rock Springs, Lander, and Pinedale.
Remembrances included all-too-familiar stories about how lack of access to affordable healthcare delayed treatment, often leading to rapid advancement of diseases that spread too far to save lives.
Many Wyomingites have suffered like this in private and in silence. But now people are publicly speaking out.
Even when some of the victims of this Wyoming healthcare crisis could see a doctor, they were prescribed expensive drugs. Many testified that medication is placed on the backburner when people also have to pay their rent and feed their families.
Linda Jones of Casper spoke about her friend Earl, who died three years ago. She said he had a steady job until he slipped on ice at work and injured his knee. He lost his job.
Without insurance, Earl was unable to fully recover and became afflicted with gout. Jones said he had to sell a cherished car to pay bills. “If our state had expanded Medicaid, Earl could have gotten the healthcare he needed,” Jones said.
In Rock Springs, Rev. Kelli Parrish-Lucas of First Congregational United Church of Christ talked about a relative who, lacking access to any health insurance, delayed diagnosis and treatment for an illness that ultimately took his life.
It was a theme repeated throughout the evening vigils. Nate Breen, a Cheyenne retired teacher, recalled how his 43-year-old daughter Meghan did not have health insurance. By the time her ovarian cancer was diagnosed, it was too late. She died in 2018.
“There was never any preventative care,” Breen said. “There was only the slow suffering leading to her death. … It is that daily grind of poverty that wears down the spirit, and the ability to fight for life wanes.”
In Gillette, vigil organizer Theresa Miller said she and her husband own a small business. Because they can’t afford health insurance, her family is severely rationing healthcare.
Maya Garcia of Laramie said without health insurance, she was not able to have a cancerous tumor detected until it was in the late stages and threatening her life. While she survived, Garcia said her initial surgery cost $285,000 and she cut her hospital stay short.
Sue Ibarra, an Albany County commissioner and Downtown Clinic volunteer, recalled Greta, a business owner who tried to receive treatment for a large goiter on her neck but didn’t have health insurance. The clinic was able to help her have the goiter removed in Colorado, but she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
“Fortunately Greta is now receiving the cancer treatment she needs, but may have never required had she received medical attention earlier,” Ibarra said.
Garold Whisler of Lander said he was uninsured when he suffered a stroke. He described his relief when, after five months of worrying, he was designated as disabled and put on Medicaid. Whisler said he needed help from thoughtful, persistent social workers who guided him through Wyoming’s arcane healthcare system.
The Rev. Bernadine Craft of the Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion is a former state senator from Rock Springs who worked on expanding Medicaid for five years before retiring from the Legislature. Now she is an active member of the Healthy Wyoming coalition.
Craft said she’s watched a steady stream of people testifying in favor of Medicaid expansion at committee meetings. “This is not a partisan issue,” she noted. “This is a human issue that is good for our communities, our medical facilities, our businesses, but most importantly for all of our citizens.”
“I am sorry because my colleagues have refused to cover your healthcare because they have put politics and ideologies above your life,” said Rep. Karlee Provenza of Laramie.
The freshman lawmaker said Wyoming has never before seen such a broad coalition advocating for healthcare, and it’s growing. The issue will be back before the Legislature in February.
The Rev. Rob Spaulding of the St. Paul’s Newman Center, University of Wyoming Catholic Community, stressed that healthcare is a basic human right that every person deserves.
Spaulding presented a call to action in his closing prayer. He said simply hoping that something will take place will not bring it about, and people need to be placed above politics.
“We especially hope that those who claim to respect life will be motivated today to discover this as a life issue,” he said.
