“Study” Tries To Claim Wyoming Children Near Bottom On Healthcare

When reading a "study" on any topic or issue it's important to look and see if there is an implicit bias or an assumption that might skew the outcome.

It's also important to look for what evidence might have been missed, or not considered.

A recent "study" once again gives Wyoming a low ranking for children's healthcare.

Wyoming dropped from 14th to 27th nationally in this year's Kids Count Data Book published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which ranks states for child well-being.

Micah Richardson, director of programs for the Wyoming Community Foundation, said keeping the overall ranking in positive territory is hard to do when you rank 46th nationally in child health.

In this "study," they rank Wyoming so low because the state did not expand Medicaid.

Wyoming is one of just 11 states to not expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, which would help an estimated 19,000 mostly low-wage women workers get health coverage. A majority of Wyoming voters want lawmakers to expand coverage, but measures have failed, year after year. (Kids Count Database).

The folks doing this "study" do not take into account how disastrous expanding Medicaid has been for those states that have done it.

Medicaid accounting for $80.5 billion in bogus payments and Medicare tallying another $46.3 billion last year.

Medicare and Medicaid both paid out, last year, more than $126 BILLION in payments they never should have paid.

Even more disastrous for rural states.

Medicaid expansion has failed to pass in the 2023 Wyoming legislative session.

It fails every year.

But supporters of expansion, who have always been very well organized, will continue to try, believing that expansion is good for the state of Wyoming.

But The Foundation for Government Accountability has a few words of caution for the state of Wyoming.

In a recent article, they laid out 5 reasons why Wyoming should never expand Medicaid.

1. The truly needy already receive government-funded coverage.

Medicaid expansion would open up these programs to include any adult, even the able-bodied, with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level.

2. Low-income Wyomingites will lose superior private coverage.

If Wyoming expands Medicaid, newly eligible individuals will no longer qualify to receive subsidies, and will instead be pushed to enroll in Medicaid.

3. Medicaid expansion hurts hospitals.

Forty percent of expansion states saw hospital job losses during the first year of Medicaid expansion, and hospitals continue to close in expansion states.

4. Medicaid expansion will weaken Wyoming’s economic advantage

States that have expanded Medicaid have seen their Medicaid enrollment skyrocket, enrolling twice as many able-bodied adults as was expected. $3 billion over 10 years. Barring massive tax hikes, Wyoming would become just as strapped for cash as expansion states.

5. There are better ways to expand coverage.

Policymakers can adopt state-based reforms right now to increase coverage options and reduce costs.

Foundation for Government Accountability goes into far more detail than you see here as to why they are opposed to expansion. You can read their entire article at this link.