Wyoming Must Pass Medicaid Expansion

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For the 3,170 Wyomingites who will be diagnosed with cancer in 2023, access to affordable, comprehensive care is essential to detecting, treating and surviving cancer. Today, more than 33,000 Wyoming residents live with cancer at some stage of treatment or survivorship. Providing individuals and families access to affordable, comprehensive health care coverage is critical in the fight against cancer. A recent poll shows that over two thirds of Wyoming voters across politcal parties and regions of the state support Medicaid expansion.

Join us in calling on lawmakers to bring our tax dollars back to the state to provide lifesaving coverage to our friends and neighbors, and support rural hospitals.

 

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Myra Garcia is one of tens of thousands of people in Wyoming who work jobs that don’t provide insurance and who can’t afford it through the Healthcare Marketplace.

When she found out she had stage-four cancer, Myra worried not only about her health and how to stay alive to care for her family, but also about the crippling financial burden.

Myra’s surgery and chemotherapy cost more than a quarter of a million dollars. The hospital waived many of those costs, passing them on to other patients in the form of higher prices. But Myra still faces unmanageable medical debt, on top of the hundreds of dollars she must pay out of pocket each month for ongoing treatment.

Read more about Myra's story.

 

Resources:

Fact sheet: Medicaid Expansion and Cancer in Wyoming

Healthy Wyoming

Medicaid and Wyoming's Budget

What Wyoming could learn from Montana's Medicaid expansion

Share Your Medicaid Story

New poll results show Wyoming voters support Medicaid expansion

A new poll released by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), AARP, the American Heart Association, and American Lung Association shows the majority of Wyoming voters support efforts to increase access to health care by expanding Medicaid. Nearly two-thirds (66%) of Wyoming residents support expanding Medicaid in the state, according to the poll conducted by New Bridge Strategy.
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Wyoming Must Pass Medicaid Expansion

Two leading Wyoming oncologists explain why Medicaid expansion is critical in the fight against cancer.

  • Monica M. Bertagnolli, M.D., FACS, FASCO, is the chair of the board of the Association for Clinical Oncology and board member for the American Cancer Society. A Wyoming native, Dr. Bertagnolli is also a cattle rancher near Boulder, Wyoming. 

  • Banu E. Symington, M.D., MACP, is with the Sweetwater Regional Cancer Center, Hematology and Oncology, in Rock Springs, Wyoming. 

 

Dr. Bertagnolli understands the need for Medicaid expansion to protect Wyoming’s critical agriculture economy. Expanding access to Medicaid will protect both the physical and financial health of hardworking Wyoming families. 

 

 

More than 3,170 Wyoming residents will be diagnosed with cancer this year. Access to health insurance is critical to prevent and catch cancer early when it is easier and less costly to treat. Too many Wyoming residents can’t access the care they need. 

 

 

Dr. Symington treats many uninsured cancer patients in rural Wyoming. Expanding Medicaid will help prevent cancer or detect it early, saving lives and lowering health care costs for patients, rural hospitals and the state.

 

 

When patients worry about health care costs because they don’t have insurance, they often delay care. This leads to worse outcomes and lost lives, as well as higher costs for patients and the hospitals in our communities. Expanding Medicaid will improve outcomes and save money. 

 

 

Medicaid expansion saves lives. Dr. Symington urges each legislator to think about their own child being unable to access health care because they lack health insurance before they cast their vote for Medicaid expansion. Every patient without insurance is someone’s child. 

 

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