Issue Position: Healthcare Costs

Issue Position

I would clearly and enthusiastically accept the federal funding for expanded Medicaid. There are many good reasons for this:

*It makes fiscal sense. At a time when the state is facing reduced revenues, it is absurd to turn down several hundred million dollars in federal funding. Wyomingites pay federal income tax, so it makes sense to return more of those dollars to Wyoming.
*It provides essential assistance to numerous small hospitals all over the state, especially in smaller communities, that are struggling to make ends meet.
*It is the morally right thing to do.

Opponents of expansion say that expansion of Medicaid will only increase individual dependence on the government, suggesting that if the recipients of this benefit would only "get a job" they would not need this assistance. But this ignores the fact that the beneficiaries of this expansion are already working! People without jobs probably already qualify for the existing Medicaid program, and people with good-paying jobs or jobs that provide health insurance won't qualify for the expanded benefits. The only people who will qualify for this expanded benefit are the working poor who, through no fault of their own, cannot find adequate full-time work with health insurance benefits. Many of these folks are working part-time (or often several part-time) jobs just to make ends meet.

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