'Pray nothing major happens'

WYOMING HEALTHCARE

Health insurance is taking a growing bite out of Wyoming paychecks, and residents say the financial strain is reaching a breaking point.

Data compiled by WalletHub, a personal finance company, claims average health insurance premiums is 17% of the median household income in Wyoming. Research done by the Natrona Collective Health Trust shows people view this as a problem.

WalletHub compared the average monthly premium for a "silver" health insurance plan in each state with that state's median household income to determine how much of a family's earnings go toward coverage.

In Wyoming, a mid-level "silver" plan — which offers "low premiums and moderate deductibles" — consumes about 17% of the median household income, making it one of the least affordable states for health insurance.

Under the Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare, health insurance plans were arranged into metal tiers. "Platinum" plans offer the most coverage with the lowest deductibles while "bronze" plans have high deductibles and still require you to take on around 40% of the costs, according to HealthCare.gov.

"Silver" plans offer a middle-ground level of coverage and serve as the benchmark for Premium Tax Credits under the Affordable Care Act. But when the Enhanced Premium Tax Credits expired at the end of 2025, households earning more than 400% of the federal poverty level were no longer eligible for the subsidies, leaving many to shoulder higher insurance costs.

WalletHub reported Wyoming residents pay $1,089 monthly for silver tier insurance. This puts the state as having the second highest premiums in the country. However, when paired with the median household income, Wyoming comes in third for the share insurances takes from paychecks.

The Natrona Collective Health Trust conducted a statewide survey in February to find the importance of healthcare issues among Wyoming voters. The results of the survey were recently published.

The survey gathered responses from 545 Wyoming residents, including 118 from Natrona County.

Although 80% of respondents said they were satisfied with the quality of their healthcare, affordability remains a major concern. The survey found 81% consider the cost of healthcare an extremely or very serious problem, while 56% said they were dissatisfied with out-of-pocket expenses such as co-pays and deductibles.

"Wyoming voters are dealing with a lot right now, housing, jobs, the cost of living, but healthcare costs are the piece they're most worried about," Beth Worthen, Natrona Collective Health Trust CEO, said in a news release. "This isn't a partisan finding. Republicans, Democrats, and Independents are describing the same challenge: Wyoming families are priced out of receiving healthcare. We made these numbers available to every candidate on the ballot this week because this issue is critical to the health and wellbeing of our communities. This must be the starting point for how Wyoming's next class of elected officials approaches health policy."

Only 71.5% of the respondents had health insurance at the time of the survey. Of those 390 individuals, 42% said they were concerned about losing their health insurance.

An unnamed individual was quoted in the survey report as saying, "I'm better off putting what I pay for health insurance monthly into a savings account and pray nothing major happens."

Another said, "No one should have to choose between medical care, or losing their home, or even being able to pay monthly bills. Illness should not have to cause bankruptcy and poverty. When peoples' care and accuracy of care are compromised over profits, the system is broke."

The Wyoming Legislature is taking a closer look at insurance over the interim. The Health Insurance Affordability Task Force met in June to start its work.

Allison Allsop is the education and health reporter for the Casper Star-Tribune. She can be reached at 307-266-0544 or allison. allsop@trib.com.