Tagged: healthcare

St. John's Medical Center CEO Lou Hochheiser is presenting a series of public forums to help Teton County residents understand health care reform.

The Wyoming Department of Health is trying to improve healthcare in rural communities by providing grant money for rural health centers.

The agency’s Keri Wagner says the money can be used to open new clinics, or to allow existing facilities to expand.

“Priority will be given to … applicants for new clinics in areas where access does not already exist,” Wagner said.

She added that while many areas in Wyoming don’t have access to good healthcare, money is not the only problem; it’s also hard to find doctors who are willing to live in rural areas.

Governor Matt Mead is urging legislators not to dismiss health care issues, but to study them and craft a Wyoming response to the Affordable Care Act.  During his state of the state message today, Mead asked legislators to study both the health insurance exchange and Medicaid expansion. 

The Supreme Court, in a five-four decision, upheld the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act. The justices ruled that the individual mandate is unconstitutional under the commerce clause, but can go ahead as a tax.

The individual mandate requires that all people must buy health insurance. For insurance companies, that means they’ll be getting a large, new pool of customers. In Wyoming, 17-percent of the population is currently uninsured, compared to a nationwide average of 16-percent.  

The Wyoming Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union says that most complaints surrounding state prisons and jails involves improper medical of mental health care.  Much of that has to do with inmates not getting their necessary medication.