Committee Votes Against Medicaid Expansion Bill

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A Wyoming legislative committee has voted against a bill to approve expansion of the federal Medicaid program.

The Senate Labor Health and Social Services Committee voted 4-to-1 on Wednesday to recommend that the full Senate not pass the bill to add nearly 30,000 people to the Medicaid rolls in the state. It's possible the bill could still come up for consideration.

Sen. John Hastert, a Democrat from Green River, is sponsoring the expansion bill. He told the committee that the state health department would save millions through the expansion by cutting reliance on other state programs.

Committee chairman Sen. Charles Scott, a Casper Republican, said he was concerned that the state can't trust federal promises to continue picking up the bulk of program costs.