Week two of the Wyoming Legislature’s budget hearings started with the largest agency in state government: the state Department of Health. On Dec. 8, the department presented its budget request to the interim Joint Appropriations Committee (JAC) at the state Capitol building.
Over the summer, Wyoming Freedom Caucus member Rep. Ken Pendergraft (R-Sheridan) has been trying to figure out how to find cuts in the state health department’s budget as part of a three-member subcommittee under the JAC.
“Thank you, director [Stefan Johansson], for being here,” said Pendergraft. “It seems like we've almost become family.”
Johansson agreed, and took it one step further.
“It does feel like we've become family,” said Johansson. “And as the old saying goes, you can choose your friends but not your family. And I bet that's felt both ways.”
The mission of Pendergraft’s panel has been compared by some lawmakers to the goals of the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The dynamic underpinning that exchange between Pendergraft and Johansson carried through most of the hearing, where, for instance, JAC lawmakers expressed serious skepticism about one element of the state’s application for federal rural healthcare funds.
Called “BearCare,” it would be a new public health benefit for emergency healthcare.
But state Freedom Caucus lawmakers were concerned about starting up a program that could wind up unsustainable, with one lawmaker quoting scripture.
Pendergraft later asked about enhancing screening for waste, fraud and abuse in long-term care eligibility applications for Medicaid.
Johansson pointed out most inconsistencies in those applications are accidental, not intentionally fraudulent.
This reporting was made possible by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, supporting state government coverage in the state. Wyoming Public Media and Jackson Hole Community Radio are partnering to cover state issues both on air and online.
