A.P.- 2.6, 2015
The Wyoming State Senate has defeated a bill to expand the federal Medicaid program.
The Senate voted 19-to-11 on Friday against a bill to expand the program to offer health insurance coverage to some 17,600 low-income adults in the state.
Friday’s Senate action makes it questionable whether any Medicaid expansion bill will pass this legislative session.
The Senate bill called for accepting over $100 million a year in federal money to expand Medicaid. The expansion is a cornerstone of the federal Affordable Care Act.
The federal government plans to reduce program support from 100 percent to 90 percent in coming years. Expansion opponents say they don’t trust federal promises to continue to pay future costs.
