January 16 - 20, 2023 ~ Session Update |
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Physician Speak Up In Week Two
WMS members showed up to Wyoming's Capitol in force this week! Physicians representing WMS ensured the perspectives of medicine remained at the forefront of lawmakers' minds in four committees this week. WMS physicians Rene Hinkle, MD, and April Kranz, MD, testified in support of plans of safe care for substance-exposed infants, and Past President Jasper James "JJ" Chen, MD, testified in support of expanding Medicaid to provide coverage for the state's most vulnerable working poor. Wyoming AAP Chapter President and WMS member Andrew Rose, MD, articulately voiced medicine's opposition to efforts to unravel decades of public health work in eradicating vaccine-preventable diseases.
The WMS team continues to monitor and provide education on more than 30 legislative proposals all of which, if passed, would touch the practice of medicine, our members' ability to care for patients to the best of their ability, reimbursement models, or public health and safety.
Please remember that your WMS leadership will be meeting in Cheyenne tomorrow, January 21, to make important decisions on a variety of policy proposals slated for debate this year. WMS continues to track bills as they are posted along with links to full text, short summaries of each bill, and their status on the WMS Legislative Bill Tracker. The bill tracker will be updated as bills are posted and action is taken. E-Newsletters similar to this one will be sent to members at the conclusion of each week to provide updates from the previous week as well as an overview of what we anticipate seeing in the week to come.
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Please note: Positions listed on the WMS Legislative Bill Tracker are not the formal positions set by the Board yet and if listed represent alignment with existing WMS policy platforms or historic positions of the Society. The positions posted are pending board approval at the January 21, 2022 meeting. |
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WMS invested a great deal of time and resources to establish THE WIRE designed to enable any member, at any time, to take an active role in shaping the policy agenda for the medical society.
- Log into THE WIRE and see if any proposals have been submitted for review and comment. Once logged in, you can navigate to all the proposals submitted to date by clicking on the Proposals Archive > January 21, 2023
- Review the comprehensive listing of bills on the state legislative website, or on the WMS Bill Tracker. See if anything catches your attention.
- Submit a proposal in THE WIRE for voting and comment across the membership for the WMS Board to review prior to next week's meeting in Cheyenne.
Remember, logging into THE WIRE is easy. Simply use the email on file with WMS and the same password you have set to log into www.wyomed.org for your member account management. If you have any trouble, simply use the Reset Password feature on the site, or contact a member of the WMS staff for assistance at 307-635-2424 or at info@wyomed.org
WMS takes legislative positions in accordance with the organization's policy platforms. Our advocacy work is prioritized around proposals that align with our pursuit of improving:
- Access to Care for Wyoming Patients
- Medical Liability Reform
- Medicaid Programming and Funding
- Physician Recruitment & Loan Repayment
- Medical Education and Residency Training
- Patient Safety, and
- Public Health and Tobacco Prevention
- Protecting the Physician-Patient Relationship
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WMS Doc and PA of the Day |
Thank you to our WMS members for volunteering to serve as Doc and PA of the Day. This week, the legislature appreciated the following WMS volunteers:
Kristopher Schamber, MD
John Winter, MD
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There are still days available to volunteer for Doc or PA of the Day. WMS is proud of this program which provides a great opportunity for WMS members to provide a valuable service to the legislature and have a front-row seat to the legislative process. Click below to learn more and see what days remain open. Email info@wyomed.org if you're interested in spending a day at the Capitol with us!
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Bills in Committee in Week Two |
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Several of the bills being monitored by WMS received debate early in the process. They are as follows:
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Medicaid twelve month postpartum coverage - A bill to extend Medicaid coverage to women postpartum from the current 60 days to 12 months. SUPPORT - passed Appropriations committee on a 7-0 vote
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School finance - mental health services - A bill to provide grant funding to Wyoming schools in support of mental health services for K-12 students. SUPPORT - passed committee on a 8-1 vote
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Plans of safe care - newborns - A bill specifying the process to care for substance-exposed infants. SUPPORT - Passed committee 5-0
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Prohibiting mask, vaccine and testing discrimination - A bill prohibiting any person providing public services from requiring vaccines, masks or medical testing for COVID-19 or any infectious disease, including childhood vaccines. OPPOSE- Passed committee 5-4 Amended to apply only to COVID-19 and removed all penalties.
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Medical treatment opportunity act-Medicaid reform - A bill to expand Medicaid coverage to individuals at or below 138% of the FPL. SUPPORT - Passed committee 6-3
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Protection of health care workers - Creates the offenses of assault, the threat of violence, and battery against health care providers. It also establishes associated penalties. SUPPORT - Carried over for committee consideration next week
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How To Connect and Stay Engaged
Use wyoleg.gov to learn more about this year's legislative process. Below are quick links to important information.
Daily Calendars including floor calendars, audio streams, and committee schedules
Bill Listing that includes all legislative proposals posted for the 2023 Session
As always, Executive Director Sheila Bush welcomes and invites any and all communication. If you have questions about the status of a bill, want to provide feedback or input on legislation, have questions about using THE WIRE, or want to share your thoughts on any other aspect of the WMS advocacy work, please email her at sheila@wyomed.org or call her cell phone at 307-630-8602.
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