Latest news with #WyomingSenate
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Hospital price transparency bill dies in Wyoming Senate
CHEYENNE — Tuesday evening, the Wyoming Senate voted to kill House Bill 121, which would have required Wyoming hospitals to post prices for items and services in dollars and cents on their websites. Some opponents of the bill expressed concern that it would harm Wyoming hospitals financially, particularly smaller, rural ones. Others said they opposed the bill in response to the Trump administration's executive order last week, which called for stricter rules and enforcement for hospitals to make prices more publicly accessible, with concerns the bill would make enforcement more confusing. The concern for smaller hospitals stems from what some senators described as additional 'paperwork and red tape' they would be required to handle. In a House committee meeting in February, Wyoming Hospital Association President Eric Boley, who opposed the bill, estimated that implementing this transparency software could cost a facility between $10,000 and $15,000 each year. 'Why do we do these things? When we've got good, successful health care programs, some of them struggling, why do we add this additional obligations when it's something we can do without,' Sen. Dan Dockstader, R-Afton, said. Supporters of the bill, however, said this legislation would have helped the state comply with the federal regulations and given the state more control. Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper, said that hospitals, no matter the size, will now be required to comply with the transparency rules, regardless of HB 121, due to the executive order. He urged his colleagues to continue to support the legislation, advocating for the advantages of enforcing a federal act on the state level. (PRA) is a health care price transparency advocacy group that has been vocal in its support for bills like HB 121 across the nation. PRA founder and chairwoman Cynthia Fisher issued a statement following the Senate vote Tuesday evening. 'Each of the 16 senators who voted against HB 121 willingly turned their backs on thousands of Wyoming patients and families,' Fisher wrote. 'They had a chance to follow President Trump's lead and take bold action to give every health care consumer in Wyoming access to upfront prices, protection from overcharges, and a more transparent system. Instead, they shamefully betrayed their constituents to placate special interests. These senators put profits over patients. Despite this disappointing setback, the fight for real hospital prices will go on in Wyoming and across our entire country.' Senators narrowly voted to kill the bill, with 16 opposed, 14 in favor and one excused. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Daniel Singh, R-Cheyenne. Rep. Daniel Singh, R-Cheyenne (2025) Rep. Daniel Singh, R-Cheyenne Despite previously voting on this legislation, Sen. Gary Crum, R-Laramie, excused himself Tuesday due to a potential conflict of interest with his role as chairman of the board of directors of Ivinson Memorial Hospital in Laramie. A controversial amendment On Monday, Crum voted in favor of an amendment to the bill to exclude public hospitals from the transparency requirements, which includes Ivinson. The amendment was put forward by Sen. Lynn Hutchings, R-Cheyenne, and also reduced the daily fine for facilities not in compliance from $1,000 to $500. That amendment passed. Senate President Bo Biteman, R-Ranchester, said he believed this amendment defeated the purpose of the bill. 'We're not going to be bankrupting these hospitals. They would be bankrupting themselves by not being in compliance,' he said Monday. 'So it's their choice to follow this act or not.' Sen. Gary Crum addresses Senate Sen. Gary Crum, R-Laramie, addresses the Senate during the first day of the 68th Wyoming Legislature's general session on Jan. 14 at the state Capitol in Cheyenne. Crum spoke in favor of the amendment on Monday, criticizing HB 121 as a 'feel-good bill' as originally written. 'This isn't controlling cost. It's going to add to the confusion, because we've got the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and now you've got a new presidential order coming in, which we don't know exactly what's in that and how that's going to be interpreted,' he said. 'And now we're going to put this (bill) into the mix, and so we're going to make all these rules and put everybody against each other.' The executive order gives health care facilities 90 days to disclose actual prices of items and services, not estimates. It will be enforced by the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Health and Human Services on the federal level. Current transparency Some lawmakers who voted against the bill, including Sen. Bill Landen, R-Casper, and Sen. Wendy Schuler, R-Evanston, said prices are already readily available at their local facilities when they need it. PRA publishes a semi-annual hospital pricing transparency report, which analyzes whether hospitals are in compliance with existing federal price transparency regulations. The report reviewed around 2,000 hospital websites. Published in November 2024, before Trump's executive order, PRA found that only 21.1% (421 hospitals) were compliant, none of which were in Wyoming. Since then, Cheyenne Regional Medical Center has become the only hospital in Wyoming to meet those transparency requirements. Fisher spoke with the WTE on Tuesday before the Senate killed HB 121. She said that greater transparency would lower the overall cost for consumers by allowing them to shop around at different health care facilities to compare the cost of services, ultimately driving costs down across the board. 'It behooves the smaller and rural hospitals to attract patients by having far more competitive prices,' she said. 'And the reality is these hospitals already have to have this data in electronic form in order to bill every single day. So, there's no burden. They already have these prices. All they need to do is pull back the curtain and show them.' Despite the federal executive order, she advocated for the original language of HB 121 to enforce transparency regulations sooner in Wyoming and prevent state law from being in conflict with the executive order by exempting certain institutions from the transparency requirements.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Senators restore full K-12 school funding after court decision
CHEYENNE – On the heels of an unfavorable district court decision on K-12 public school funding this week, state lawmakers restored the full $66.3 million external cost adjustment on Friday. The funding was brought through an amendment introduced by Senate Majority Floor Leader Tara Nethercott, R-Cheyenne, to a school recalibration bill, after the Wyoming Senate nixed the supplemental budget in an unprecedented move Wednesday night. Nethercott's amendment to House Bill 316, 'School finance-model recalibration-2,' restored the full $66.3 million cost adjustment to the K-12 block grant, after legislative appropriators had cut it down to $48.8 million in the supplemental budget. Lawmakers were told last fall the $66.3 million would put the state back on track to fully funding its K-12 public schools. 'As we know, this past week we received some information suggesting that it would be prudent to fully fund the (cost adjustment),' Nethercott said. '... I strongly suggest we do.' Lawmakers faced external pressure to fully fund Wyoming's public schools after a Laramie County district court judge dropped a bombshell 186-page decision Wednesday, finding that Wyoming has unconstitutionally underfunded its K-12 public school system. 'The Court notes, because 2025 is a recalibration year, there is an excellent window of opportunity to address these issues,' District Judge Peter H. Froelicher wrote in his decision. Nethercott's amendment passed by a vote of 19-12. The bill passed the Senate 29-2 and must now pass a concurrence vote in the House of Representatives. If House members concur with the Senate's amendments, the bill will go to the governor's desk for his signature. Child development funding Sen. Bill Landen, R-Casper, also attempted to tack on $4 million for child development centers to HB 316. This money was originally a mirror amendment in the supplemental budget – meaning it passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate – and it funded half of the original $8 million request by the Wyoming Department of Health. Since the budget was nixed, this money for special education preschools was discarded with it. 'I do want to reiterate how important these centers are,' Landen said. Sen. Bill Landen, R-Casper (2025) Sen. Bill Landen, R-Casper Representatives from child development centers, including STRIDE Learning Center in Cheyenne, have long told legislators they're at risk of permanently shutting their doors due to insufficient state funding. After the Senate announced it would not pass the supplemental budget, lawmakers quickly worked to find homes for budget items through amendments to various bills. However, some lawmakers pushed back against these amendments, arguing it violated legislative procedure. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Tim Salazar, R-Riverton, who is a strong supporter of child development center funding, said Friday he regrettably could not support Landen's amendment, because it was not germane to the bill. Sen. Tim Salazar, R-Riverton (2025) Sen. Tim Salazar, R-Riverton 'Everyone here knows how I feel about this issue. I fought tooth and nail for this in the budget,' Salazar said. 'But I need to be intellectually honest – I am concerned about the germaneness of this, in this bill. … It has nothing to do, as you all know, with how I feel about this issue.' Landen's amendment failed to pass the Senate, but a similar approach is taking place down the hall. Rep. Elissa Campbell, R-Casper, made a similar attempt, adding the $4 million child development center appropriation to Senate File 22. Although her amendment failed, Rep. Mike Yin, D-Jackson, told the WTE there could be more attempts to add child development center funding to Senate bills in the House next week. As for the Senate, Landen told the WTE he would not be making any more amendments. 'I am disappointed with today's vote, but I will continue to fight for the work our (child development centers) do,' Landen said in a text message.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
People Are Applauding A Wyoming Woman For Purposely Misgendering A State Senator To Prove A Point About An Anti-Trans Bill
A slew of new anti-trans legislation is making headway across the country, including in the Wyoming State Legislature. Wyoming legislators introduced HB0032, called the What is a Woman Act, which defines terms like "man" and "woman" as strictly cisgender. There's also State File 007, a bill proposing that state employees not be required to use a colleague's preferred pronouns. It asserts that "compelled speech is not free speech." At a meeting of the Wyoming Senate Agriculture, State and Public Lands & Water Resources committee last Friday, Wyoming resident Britt Boril joined via Zoom call to express her disapproval of the legislation and casually stole the show. @ posted it to TikTok, where it's been viewed over 2 million times. State Senator Tim French, a Republican and cisgender man, called on Boril to speak. She says, "Hello. Thank you, Madam Chairman." She continues but is cut off by French. "You can call me Mister Chairman if you want," he interrupts. "Well, I cannot be compelled to use your preferred pronouns, as you have all voted to allow," Boril says. Senator French replies, "Wait a minute, we're talking about preferred pronouns. A lot of people are. I prefer to be called Chairman French. That's my preferred pronoun." "I know," Boril tells him, "and you all voted that preferred pronouns cannot be 'compelled' speech in SF0077. Anyway, my name is Britt Boril, and I'm a constituent calling in from Casper to voice my opposition to HB0032." HuffPost reported that "Boril told the committee that the act puts women in 'real danger through government overreach'" and that they should focus "on issues 'that actually matter' to Wyoming citizens." Boril also shared on her Instagram that "misgendering people is not cool" and that "disrespect was the message," HuffPost wrote. "We're all about mindful malicious compliance here," she also said. People were very into Britt's comments at the Senate meeting online. This person wrote, "Malicious compliance has entered the chat." "Britt Borel you're my type of petty and I'm here for all of it," someone else wrote. "And she knew he'd instantly take the bait too." People LOVED how she transitioned to the real matter at hand. "The 'ANYWAY' was so healing too," someone commented. "The 'anyway' went so hard," another person wrote. Many poked fun at Sen. French, aka "Madam Chairman," with some of the condescending things historically said to women. "Don't get hysterical madam chairman French," this user wrote. "Why is madam chairman getting so emotional?" someone joked. "Madam Chairman got so emotional. She should have a nap and a lie down," another commented. Britt also got a lot of love on the Instagram video she posted addressing her new followers and talking about her testimony. You can watch the clip of Britt here or the full meeting recording here. Wyoming Legislature / Via What do you think? Let me know in the comments.
Buzz Feed
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Buzz Feed
People Are Applauding A Wyoming Woman For Purposely Misgendering A State Senator To Prove A Point About An Anti-Trans Bill
A slew of new anti-trans legislation is making headway across the country, including in the Wyoming State Legislature. Wyoming legislators introduced HB0032, called the What is a Woman Act, which defines terms like "man" and "woman" as strictly cisgender. There's also State File 007, a bill proposing that state employees not be required to use a colleague's preferred pronouns. It asserts that "compelled speech is not free speech." At a meeting of the Wyoming Senate Agriculture, State and Public Lands & Water Resources committee last Friday, Wyoming resident Britt Boril joined via Zoom call to express her disapproval of the legislation and casually stole the show. @ posted it to TikTok, where it's been viewed over 2 million times. State Senator Tim French, a Republican and cisgender man, called on Boril to speak. She says, "Hello. Thank you, Madam Chairman." She continues but is cut off by French. "You can call me Mister Chairman if you want," he interrupts. "Well, I cannot be compelled to use your preferred pronouns, as you have all voted to allow," Boril says. Senator French replies, "Wait a minute, we're talking about preferred pronouns. A lot of people are. I prefer to be called Chairman French. That's my preferred pronoun." "I know," Boril tells him, "and you all voted that preferred pronouns cannot be 'compelled' speech in SF0077. Anyway, my name is Britt Boril, and I'm a constituent calling in from Casper to voice my opposition to HB0032." Boril also shared on her Instagram that "misgendering people is not cool" and that "disrespect was the message," HuffPost wrote. "We're all about mindful malicious compliance here," she also said. Britt also got a lot of love on the Instagram video she posted addressing her new followers and talking about her testimony. You can watch the clip of Britt here or the full meeting recording here. @ Love it Wyoming Legislature / Via
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Immunity for overdose reporting passes Senate with treatment requirement
CHEYENNE — A measure that would allow limited immunity for overdose reporting has passed the Wyoming Senate and is headed to the House for consideration. On Tuesday, the Senate voted on third and final reading in favor of Senate File 74, 'Immunity for drug overdose reporting.' The bill would offer immunity to anyone seeking medical assistance for themself or another person in an overdose incident. Immunity from criminal prosecution would apply if the reporting person reasonably believed they or another person was experiencing a drug overdose, and if that person provided a description of the actual location of the drug overdose event. The reporting person must remain at the scene of the drug overdose until a responding law enforcement officer or emergency medical service provider arrives, and would be required to cooperate with the responding officer. Twice, Sen. Lynn Hutchings, R-Cheyenne, tried to remove a provision of the bill offering immunity two times in one year. She wanted to change it to once a year. Her amendments failed both in committee and on the Senate floor. Advocates last week said that Wyoming is the last state to offer such immunity, adding that many states don't limit the times someone can report at all. On Monday, Sen. Barry Crago, R-Buffalo, offered an amendment on second reading, co-sponsored by Hutchings, that a person experiencing a drug overdose event 'shall be eligible to receive immunity for a second time in a 12-month period … only upon the person completing, after the second qualifying drug overdose event, a drug treatment program approved by the applicable district attorney.' 'Last week, we talked about the, kind of, two 'free passes' built in this bill,' Crago said on the Senate floor. 'This (amendment) is a compromise. It also addresses other issues, which is, does the bill address treatment for some of these folks that need help?' Sen. Tara Nethercott, R-Cheyenne, asked if the amendment would actually require someone involved in a reporting incident to be charged with a crime. 'Would this require, then, the person who is brought in for an overdose to then be charged with a crime in order for the district attorney or county attorney to have jurisdiction, or the kind of authority, to determine whether or not they are compliant with their drug treatment?' Nethercott asked. She continued by asking if those covered by the amendment would have to complete a substance abuse evaluation to determine the level of treatment required, and she also asked who would pay for treatment. 'Do we have to charge that person? I don't believe so,' Crago responded. 'The county attorneys, the district attorneys have the ability to (order treatment). It would be similar to diversion, where they are not charged up front.' In other words, those involved would be charged if and after they fail to complete treatment. 'They would be subject to a charging document at that time,' Crago said. Crago's amendment passed on Monday. The bill will next head to the House for introduction.
