The cost of unpaid hospital bills in Wyoming outweighs the funding provided by property tax, forcing many Wyoming hospitals into debt; however, Ivinson Memorial Hospital and UW Health Services are unaffected by these trends.
“We’re not experiencing any budget problems, because we were good before it was a problem,” Ivinson Memorial Hospital Chief Executive Officer Douglas Faus said.
UW Student Health Services has also avoided funding problems.
“It doesn’t really affect us the same way as a hospital, because we get our funding from semester fees paid by all full-time students,” Director of Student Health Services Joanne Steane said.
The Wyoming Legislature turned down a bill to extend Medicaid that would have helped cover much of the cost posed by unpaid bills. The bill would have expand those covered by Medicaid to include all non-disabled adults under the age of 65 with incomes at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty level of $16,243 for an individual, according to the Associated Press.
This expansion would have made 24,000 currently uninsured adults eligible for Medicaid in the state of Wyoming.
“It is possible that some students would benefit,” Steane said when asked about the proposed Medicaid expansion.
Other health care workers share similar points of view.
“There are a lot of patrons that would benefit,” Faus said.
He said he believes within the next two years Medicaid will be expanded in Wyoming.
However, some Ivinson employees believe it is important for the state Legislature to take the necessary time to feel comfortable with the cost of the expansion.
Some of the debate around the Medicaid expansion is the fear it would create too great of a cost to the taxpayer.
“We do have a population in Albany [County] that would benefit, but I think they [State Legislature] need to be informed,” Ivinson Memorial Hospital Chief Financial Officer Bryan Chalmers said.
Traditionally, Wyoming has used property tax to subsidize the cost of medical coverage. Recently, however, the rate of property tax is not covering unpaid medical bills and Medicaid coverage gaps. Yet, the current amount of Medicaid funding is posing no financial difficulties for Ivinson Hospital.
Moreover, Ivinson Director of Patient Financial Services Andrea Lewis said she believes the hospital’s financial assistance program does provide a realistic option for people that would be covered by the Medicaid expansion.
“There are people that need the help but right now don’t qualify for Medicaid, but we have a great financial assistance program,” Lewis said.
Although, some worry the Medicaid expansion would pose a burden on the Wyoming taxpayer, most seem to agree there is a sizable population in Wyoming that would benefit from the Medicaid expansion.
