Members of the 68th are within a week of closing out the 2025 Legislative Session. Today, 1/27, represents the last day for any legislative proposal to be acted upon in the assigned committee in the second chamber and tomorrow is the last day for bills to be heard on General File in Committee of the Whole (CoW).

Kudos to the leadership of WMS, which wisely restructured the organization's approach to advocacy activity this year. The changes the board made to capitalize on the best parts of our representative governance through the advisory positions of the board, while responding to the requests to do more polling and surveying of our members to establish positions on more controversial issues, have produced overwhelming positive feedback and results! WMS reserved precious political capital by not providing public testimony on any legislation this year and instead focused efforts on individually working with members of the legislature to educate and inform in alignment with the WMS Board of Trustees Advisory Opinions and WMS Advocacy Tenets. We were able to accomplish great things while reserving public testimony for issues that met the required minimum thresholds for member participation.

The WMS Board of Trustees will revisit this year's advocacy approach at its future meetings and are eager to learn how members feel about it. Our organization exists purely to serve our members and all the changes made have been in the spirit of better representing a growing membership and the diversity in perspective living within it. Please don't hesitate to reach out to Executive Director Sheila Bush at 307-630-8602 or sheila@wyomed.org or your local county trustee with any thoughts or feedback you'd like to share.

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2025 WMS Bill Tracker

Only six of the 40 legislative proposals being tracked by WMS remain active in this year's process.

• 28 have failed by either timing deadline or a defeating vote
• 6 have passed both the House and Senate and have been sent to the Governor or are already signed enrolled acts
• 6 remain active in this year's process and await final debate in the second chamber

House Bill 121: Hospital pricing transparency (Passed Cmte)

House Bill 164: Medical prescriptions off-label purposes (Passed Cmte amended)

Senate File 107: Freedom to work and build business (Passed Cmte with an amended title)

Senate File 125: Defining Healthcare and protecting the people's welfare (Passed Cmte amended)

Senate File 155: International physician licensure (Passed Cmte with amendments)

• WMS Member Polling on The WIRE shows:
• 14% Neutral, 28% Support, and 58% Oppose

Senate File 172: Physical therapy licensure compact (Passed Cmte)

House Bill 231: Medical education funding was a legislative initiative sponsored by Representatives Lloyd Larsen and Bob Nicholas along with Senators Dan Dockstader and Bill Landen to expand Wyoming's investment in educating physicians. The bill was introduced in the House and referred to the Education committee, where it failed to be heard by the first deadline.

Today, Representative Larsen essentially amended the language from failed HB231 into Senate File 103: Terminating and defunding diversity, equity and inclusion. This amendment, if adopted by the Senate on concurrence, appropriates $500,000 from the state general fund to the University of Wyoming to provide medical education and training, as well as the associated administrative costs, for the first cohort of five (5) students to attend the University of Utah School of Medicine. The same requirements and contract stipulations in effect for WWAMI students would apply to students receiving state support through this newly envisioned partnership between the Univ. of WY and Utah.

This bill now moves back to the Senate for concurrence.

The 2025 Session offered its share of ups and downs for healthcare advocates and their patients. January and February have been a flurry of activity as policy experts work to educate lawmakers of the often unintended consequences of well-intentioned legislative proposals. According to the WIRE polling results, at least a couple of legislative initiatives that violate WMS Advocacy Tenets and conflict with WMS member opinions have successfully navigated the process and have received final action from the Governor or are awaiting Governor's action.

Despite some of the more disappointing legislative efforts and results, there are things to celebrate! The following legislation earned WMS support and advanced in part as a result of WMS advocacy efforts and member engagement this year:

• House Bill 82: Provider enrollment standards (Governor Signed into Law)
• WMS was an active member of a coalition of key stakeholders including Wyoming insurance carriers, the Wyoming Hospital Association, and pharmacy representatives that met throughout the 2024 interim to craft and negotiate the terms of House Bill 82. This coalition worked hard to move HB82 over the finish line this year. The bill requires that insurance companies meet specific time requirements when credentialing physicians and providers allowing our members to work and bill for claims in a predictable and timely fashion after opening a practice, starting with a hospital, or relocating.
• Senate File 23: Handicap placards-health care providers' approval (Governor Signed into Law)
• Another bill that was debated throughout the 2024 interim. Prior law restricted the issuing of handicap placards to physicians and APRNs only. This bill authorizes physician assistants, physical therapists, occupational therapists, podiatrists, and optometrists to join physicians and APRNs in the ability to submit the required documentation allowing patients access to handicap placards.
• Senate File 74: Immunity for drug overdose reporting (Passed both Chambers - Waiting for the Senate to concur with the House changes)
• Provides limited immunity from prosecution to persons who report or experience an emergency drug overdose event. WMS actively worked to support this bill in 2017 and again this year. We're grateful for its passage and are optimistic that the Senate will agree to the changes made in the House chamber so this bill can proceed to the Governor for signature.
• Senate File 130: Emergency Assistance Immunity - mental health services (Passed both Chambers - Waiting for Governor Action)
• Expands the immunity afforded to physicians, or anyone acting in good faith, who renders emergency care or assistance to include mental health crisis.

A number of legislative proposals being followed by WMS, 28 in total, have failed to survive this year's legisaltive process. A comprehensive listing of these bills and the way in which they failed, is detailed at the bottom of our legislative bill tracker. The bills included below either had action taken on them this past week or achieved elevated attention through this year's process.

• HB96: Prohibiting mask, vaccine and testing discrimination
• HB128: Public health emergency - definition amendments
• HB135: Autologous or direct blood donations
• HB141: Health mandates CDC and WHO jurisdiction in WY
• HB152: Donated blood - mRNA disclosure
• HB159: Protecting water from chemical abortion waste
• WMS Member Polling on The WIRE shows:
• 98% Oppose, 2% Support
• HB222: Medical ethics defense act - 2
• WMS Member Polling on The WIRE shows:
• 89% Oppose, 11% Support
• HB250: Defining life and the rights of natural persons
• HB269: Naturopathic medicine licensure
• SF112: Anesthesiologist assistants licensing
• SF35: Governmental claims maximum liability amounts
• SF129: Hospital employees - drug and alcohol testing

Today is the final day for all House Bills still active in this year's process to be out of committee in the Senate and any Senate Files still active in this year's process to be out of committee in the House of Representatives. Tomorrow, 2/28/25, is the last day for legislation to be heard and voted on General File in Committee of the Whole (CoW). All legislation must be voted on and out of the second chamber having prevailed on a Third Reading vote by Tuesday, March 4.

The Labor, Health and Social Services Committee will be meeting jointly (both Senate and House members together) over the noon hour on Tuesday, March 3, to discuss interim topics. The Legislature is scheduled to adjourn no later than midnight on Thursday night, 3/6/25.

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