EDITORIAL: Wyoming wise to consider expanding Medicaid this year

Posted 1/22/15

Health care costs have continued to spiral upward, causing millions of Americans grave concerns about how they can provide proper care for their family and themselves. President Barack Obama sought to address this decades-old problem with his …

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EDITORIAL: Wyoming wise to consider expanding Medicaid this year

Posted

Thumbs up to the state of Wyoming for taking a long look at expanding Medicaid in the state.

Health care costs have continued to spiral upward, causing millions of Americans grave concerns about how they can provide proper care for their family and themselves. President Barack Obama sought to address this decades-old problem with his sweeping Affordable Care Act, which became the law of the land in 2010.

The ACA, also known as Obamacare by both its proponents and detractors, has been effective in some ways and a flop in others. Gov. Matt Mead has repeatedly expressed his opposition to it and had the state join a lawsuit seeking to overturn it.

But now, five years after the ACA came into existence, Wyoming would be foolish to reject the $100 million that it would provide for the state, Mead said last week. The money will be spent, anyway, he noted, and if Wyoming does not take it, other states will be glad to accept the cash.

It could mean expanded health care for more than 17,000 Wyomingites, Mead said, and he urged the Legislature to move on this.

The fact that health-care providers across the state, including those in the Big Horn Basin, are also urging expansion of the federal program is another good reason to support this. Let’s drop the partisan bickering and do what’s best for thousands of people with very real medical concerns.

Thumbs up to Forrest Allen, who donated $1 million to the Northwest College Foundation last year.

In a story in Tuesday’s Powell Tribune, Allen, who is 93 and still hale and hearty, explained why he wanted to assist young people who seek to become farmers and ranchers. The money he donated will do just that, funding scholarships for agriculture students.

Allen said when he began farming in the mid-20th century, a person could get a start with a few hundred dollars. Now, it takes tens of thousands to be able to buy or rent land and acquire the machinery and animals needed for it.

That’s why this modest, plain-spoken and frugal man decided to plant a new seed to help grow a new crop of men and women to serve as stewards of the land. We think Forrest Allen, who up until last year worked the fields of his neighbors despite his advanced age and tremendous success, is a role model for everyone, not just young farmers and ranchers, to admire.

Thumbs up to Yellowstone Regional Airport announcing a record year in passengers.

In 2014, the Cody airport boarded 32,301 passengers, topping the previous year’s total by 4.2 percent. Competitive pricing, adding flights in and out of Chicago, and a customer-first attitude at the airport were cited as reasons for the growth.

We hope the airport’s rise continues. With such a plan and efforts, it seems likely to take wing.

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