Every Sunday, the church gathers for worship, and in that sacred time prayers are offered for the sick. Genuine concern is expressed for folks suffering from illness.
It would be helpful to all those ordinary citizens, caring for their neighbors, for the Wyoming Legislature to adopt a more friendly attitude about Medicaid expansion.
Many of our neighbors are forced out of the health care system because it is impossible for them to obtain health insurance. They cannot go to their children’s teacher and ask to be put on the school district’s health care plan. They cannot go to their neighbor’s employer, who provides health care for their workers, and ask to be enrolled in their plan of care.
They are stuck with few options.
They could plead with friends to throw a fundraising event or beg for help on the “go fund” me page. They could purchase insurance with a very high deductible from a commercial source; however, those sources are usually not affordable to hourly wage earners.
So, what are they to do? When sickness comes, and sickness will come, they wait too long to get appropriate care and then show up at our county-owned hospital where the cost is shared by everyone else.
Medicaid expansion is what is available now. It’s workable. It’s doable. Until a better alternative is presented, it is what is needed — now is the time.
Pastor Doug Goodwin, First Christian Church, Sheridan
Ted Lapis, Quaker Tradition, Sheridan
Pastor Joel Dingman, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Sheridan
Pastor Jim Barth, First United Methodist Church, Sheridan
Pastor Phil Wold, Trinity Lutheran Church, Sheridan
Pastor Don Derryberry, Retired, United Methodist, Sheridan
Pastor Bob Miller, Retired, United Church of Christ, Sheridan
Pastor Karl Heimbuck, First Presbyterian Church, Sheridan
Roger Sanders, Unitarian Universalist tradition, Sheridan
The Rev. Juanita Smith, Deacon, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Sheridan