State to take over insurance program

State to take over insurance program
 
By Seth Klamann
Casper Star-Tribune 
Via Wyoming News Exchange
 
CASPER — The Wyoming Department of Health will begin running a program to provide Medicaid to low-income children, which will save the state and federal government more than $10 million. 
Previously, the program — which supplies insurance to 3,300 children statewide — was administered and run by Blue Cross Blue Shield, the state’s largest insurer. 
Earlier this year, the Legislature passed a bill allowing the Health Department and its Medicaid division to run the program itself, which will save the state money and cut out the middle man. 
That’s especially important in a time of tightening budget cuts. 
The Health Department will shoulder a significant cut in the next year, one that will exceed $100 million in all. The decision to move to state control of the program will save the state more than $3.6 million and the federal government more than $6.8 million. Though the Health Department’s adoption of the program will save money, it was in part precipitated by the fact that no insurer apparently submitted a bid to administer it. “Overall we expect a smooth transition for both our Kid Care CHIP providers and for the program’s clients,” Teri Green, who runs the state Medicaid program, said in a statement. 
CHIP refers to the Wyoming Children’s Insurance Program. 
Providers who partake in CHIP will have to sign up for the state’s Medicaid rolls in order to continue working with those children. 
Green said in a statement that “clients should also notice lower copays and more covered services over time.” 
To qualify for CHIP — which provides free dental and health care — a child’s parents must make below 200% of the federal poverty level and not be otherwise eligible for Medicaid, which is significantly limited in Wyoming. 
Uninsured children have long been a problem in Wyoming. 
A health report last year found that roughly 10% of the juvenile population in 2017 was uninsured, which is double the national average and the highest for Wyoming in recent years. 
A lack of insurance, generally speaking, leads to unhealthier, shorter lives for patients and a more expensive health care system, as more people use the emergency room for primary care and are unable to pay for it. That, in turns, drives up overall prices.