During the Wyoming Legislature’s “interim” session this summer and fall, small groups of lawmakers met as committees to discuss specific issues and to craft bills to sponsor for the 2026 budget session, which starts Feb. 9.
Better Wyoming volunteers have engaged with a number of these issues, often attending or testifying at meetings, writing op-eds, and contacting lawmakers.
In a series of blog posts, we bring folks up to date with where committees landed and what folks can expect during the session.
ISSUE: The Freedom Caucus attempted to ‘DOGE’ the Wyoming Department of Health but found no waste, fraud, or abuse. Nevertheless, they cut tens of millions of dollars in health funding from the governor’s proposed budget.
COMMITTEE: Joint Appropriations Committee
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OVERVIEW
Ninety-five percent of the Wyoming Department of Health’s budget “passes through” the state agency and goes directly to health clinics and services in local Wyoming communities.
Nevertheless, the agency has been historically underfunded. Wyoming faces a healthcare crisis affecting thousands of residents with major healthcare needs, including pregnant women, seniors, people with disabilities, and those requiring mental healthcare.
Wyoming’s healthcare costs rank among the highest in the nation, with high premiums and deductibles for health insurance plans. The state has one of the highest rates of uninsured adults, and 10% of children have no health insurance.
The situation worsened for thousands this year after Congress decided not to renew the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits that had kept federal Healthcare Marketplace plans low. Some premiums jumped more than 400%, so even more Wyomingites are going without health insurance.
There are stark differences in healthcare access and quality across Wyoming’s 23 counties. More than 20% of women live in a “maternity desert” without an OB physician, and rural expectant mothers often travel more than 100 miles to find a birthing center.
There are other physician shortages, even for a rural state. A recent national report shows Wyoming has just nine radiologists per 100,000 people, compared to the U.S. average of 13, even as the state’s population ages and demands for advanced imaging grows.
State hospitals are struggling to fill roles for CT, MRI, ultrasound, and nuclear medicine technologies. Last month the Wyoming Behavioral Health Alliance sent a letter to legislators with 260 signatures from providers, outlining the detrimental effect WDH budget cuts can have.
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
DOGE failure
Jumping on Elon Musk’s bandwagon, Freedom Caucus members of the Legislature’s Joint Appropriations committee attempted to “DOGE” the Wyoming department of Health.
Freedom Caucus Rep. Ken Pendergraft chaired the dog-and-pony show, with Sen. Dan Laursen and Rep. Trey Sherwood. None have healthcare backgrounds.
As one former Wyoming nurse pointed out, trying to understand complicated public health issues in a short series of meetings is like trying to learn quantum physics in a day.
WDH Director Stefan Johansson patiently walked members through the budget, explaining what each agency does. Healthcare providers testified the money is responsibly spent on real public health needs. After four meetings, the panel found no waste, fraud, or abuse.
Cuts to the healthcare budget
The DOGE failure didn’t keep the Freedom Caucus from seeking budget cuts. The full Joint Appropriations Committee voted to axe tens of millions of dollars from Gov. Mark Gordon’s proposed budget.
The cuts include:
- $17 million for increased funding for OB maternity services at critical access hospitals
- $27.6 million for a long-term care program for seniors and adults with disabilities
- $2.9 million from the Wyoming Public Laboratory for services like courier specimen delivery and building monitoring
- $58 million from Indian Health Service, which was restored after public outrage.
- $10.3 million from preschool services for disabled children
When the budget session begins next week, lawmakers in both the House and the Senate will have the ability to try and restore some of this funding via amendments to the budget.
Federal rural health funds
During “interim” budget hearings, lawmakers questioned Wyoming’s award for $205 million of the Rural Health Transformation Program. WDH seeks to create a perpetuity fund to avoid fiscal cliffs when the funding ends in five years.
The JAC received testimony regarding “Bear Care,” a proposed state-operated catastrophic health benefit plan. Despite WDH’s support, lawmakers removed it from the immediate list of time-limited programs.
WHAT'S NEXT?
After the Wyoming Supreme Court ruled that abortion is healthcare and laws banning abortions are unconstitutional, anti-choice lawmakers will certainly push the crisis pregnancy center bill with increased fervor as part of their attack on reproductive rights.
Meanwhile, there will likely be efforts to restore Department of Health funding that Gov. Mark Gordon proposed in his budget but that the Joint Appropriations Committee cut. Individual lawmakers can propose amendments from the chamber floors as both the House and Senate craft their own versions of the budget during the upcoming session, which starts Feb. 9.