Tips For Writing To Your Local Legislators About Medicaid Expansion

Tens of thousands of Wyoming residents lack basic access to healthcare. Most work jobs that don’t offer health insurance and don’t pay enough to buy private coverage—but they still earn too much to qualify for Wyoming Medicaid. As a result, far too many of our Wyoming neighbors go without treatment when they’re ill, screenings for deadly disease, and necessary prescriptions.

The Wyoming Legislature has the choice to expand Wyoming’s Medicaid program during its 2022 budget session in February, closing the “gap” in healthcare coverage into which too many of our neighbors fall. Please write to your state representative and your state senator.

See the sidebar on this page to find your legislator.

IMPORTANT:
• Write two messages: Write one to your representative and another one to your senator.
• Keep it brief: Lawmakers get tons of emails. If you write them a novel, they’re not going to read it.

YOUR MESSAGE SHOULD HAVE THREE SHORT PARTS:

1. Say who you are.
Make sure to tell them you’re a voter in their district. Maybe thank them for their work (even if you tend to disagree with them)
My name is ____. I live in _____ and I’m a voter in your district. Thank you for your service in the Wyoming Legislature.

2. Say what you want.
“I’m writing today to ask you to vote “Yes” for Medicaid expansion during the 2022 budget session.” 
OR
 “Please support Medicaid expansion during the budget session in February.”

3. Say why you want it.
This is where you can add a sentence or two about why updating Medicaid and healthcare access in general is important to you. For ideas, see talking points below.

TALKING POINTS

A personal, values-based message is best. Maybe mention a few of these things:

• Extending Medicaid coverage to low-income adults would allow 24,000 uninsured people in Wyoming the ability to access healthcare without worrying about crippling debt.
• The people who would qualify for coverage are mostly low-income workers—for instance, a single parent making $12 an hour. Most are young single mothers.
• The American Rescue Plan includes additional funding for states that update their Medicaid programs. Wyoming would become eligible to receive enough federal funds to extend Medicaid coverage to low-income residents without any additional spending by the state.
• States that have already updated their Medicaid programs have seen economic improvements.
• Roughly 6,000 people in Wyoming have lost their job-based insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Extending Medicaid to low-income residents would drive down uncompensated care costs at our hospitals and rural clinics, create healthcare jobs, decrease premiums in the state, and help create a healthier Wyoming.

Tell your local Wyo legislators:
 I support Medicaid expansion and so should YOU!