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Lawmakers Consider Hospital Fund

After killing Medicaid expansion on Friday, the Wyoming Senate began work on legislation that would help hospitals in the state pay for emergency room services or so-called charity care they provide to people who cannot pay. 

The Senate voted to put five million dollars into a fund to help hospitals address some of these debts. Cowley Republican Ray Peterson called it a one year band aid that doesn’t adequately address a more serious problem.

“It’s an important issue, it’s certainly not going to go away, we’ll be back here again next session talking about uncompensated care, bad debt that the hospitals occur, because it’s staggering folks, it’s staggering.”

Sheridan Senator Bruce Burns complained that the bill directs too much money to larger hospitals instead of the smaller, more rural hospitals that are facing closure. The bill will be debated two more times.

Bob Beck retired from Wyoming Public Media after serving as News Director of Wyoming Public Radio for 34 years. During his time as News Director WPR has won over 100 national, regional and state news awards.
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