Efforts to Expand Medicaid Coverage

Karen Roach

Wyoming is one of 25 states that have not expanded their Medicaid programs. AARP is encouraging members in those states to urge legislators to support expansion, which could provide health care for many of the working poor, as well as people who have lost their jobs and employer-sponsored coverage.

Legal residents younger than 65 with income up to $15,856 per individual or $21,404 per couple would be eligible for coverage in an expanded Medicaid program. At those income levels, people earn too much to qualify for traditional Medicaid and too little to qualify for tax credits that help pay for coverage through a state’s health insurance marketplace.

In Wyoming, Medicaid expansion would cover more than 17,000 residents and could save the state more than $47 million over seven years. As in other states, the federal government would cover 100 percent of the cost through 2016, gradually decreasing to 90 percent by 2020 and staying at that level thereafter. Go to legisweb.state.wy.us and click on “Legislator Information” to contact lawmakers and ask them to support Medicaid expansion.