Topics Approved for Interim Meetings

The Wyoming legislature's interim work kicks off soon, and you have a chance to make a difference!

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In early April, legislators decided on interim topics and prioritized four issues of vital importance to Wyomingites and the AHA.

They include:

  • Tobacco tax – Wyoming’s tax on tobacco is the sixth-lowest in the nation, and they’re even lower than in Kentucky and Tennessee, which are two of the country’s biggest tobacco-growing states. Increasing the tobacco tax could make a big difference in lowering tobacco usage rates. This topic will be heard in the Revenue Committee.
  • Postpartum health care – The Labor, Health and Social Services Committee will hear this important topic. Under standard Medicaid, which covers about four out of 10 births in the U.S., a mother and her newborn child are eligible for coverage for only 60 days after birth. A provision in the American Rescue Plan Act provides a chance to extend that coverage from 60 days to a full year.
  • Medicaid Expansion – Wyoming remains one of only 12 states that hasn’t extended Medicaid health care coverage to people who fall into an earnings/employer health care coverage gap that leaves them unable to afford health care coverage and outside of eligibility for an employer-funded benefit.  This will also be heard in the Revenue Committee.
  • Telecommunicator CPR (TCPR) – This important initiative saw movement last legislative session, but the “clock” ran out, meaning the session ended before the legislation could make it through the Senate and House. There’s still strong support for TCPR, which means emergency dispatchers in Wyoming would receive training enabling them to coach a caller through administering life-saving CPR until emergency responders arrive. This often takes more than an hour.

You can make a difference by reaching out to legislators or attending the committee meetings for these issues. Watch your email for opportunities to help create a healthier Wyoming.

 

 

 

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