Amid Wyomingโs growing maternity desert crisis, a Casper Republican state lawmaker has suggested increasing Medicaid payments to OB-GYNs to make up for the stateโs declining birth rate. Wyomingโs fertility rate has declined by 21.3% in the last decade, according to data from the March of Dimes, a nonprofit organization that provides research, education and advocacy for maternal and infant health care.
At least nine Wyoming hospitals, including Cheyenne Regional Medical Center, have seen a decline in delivery trends, according to data provided by the Wyoming Department of Health. The Legislatureโs Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Committee held a two-day meeting in Casper earlier this week to discuss gaps in health care services. Representatives from the WDH gave a presentation on both emergency medical services and maternity care gaps.
WDH policy analyst Franz Fuchs said these two areas have one common theme: a critical gap between fixed costs and low revenue. โWe pay for the capacity, but the volume is not there to sustain a lot of these services on the revenue side,โ Fuchs said.
Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper, asked for two bill drafts at the end of Tuesdayโs meeting to raise state and federal payments in the Medicaid program for EMS services and obstetrics. Scott recalled testimony from WDH representatives, who said the declining birth rate in Wyoming contributed to a lack of economic activity for maternity care services.
Scottโs first bill draft, which he said would likely require an appropriation, would raise state and federal Medicaid payments to the maximum federal amount for obstetrics. His second bill draft would similarly raise Medicaid payments for EMS services.
Volunteerism in EMS services has declined significantly, according to public testimony, and rural areas across the state are struggling to sustain them. Fuchs said such volunteerism is declining across the U.S., and more services are having to staff with paid positions.
