After Victory, Barlow Gets To Work Immediately to Launch Healthcare Strike Team
GILLETTE, WY — Eric Barlow wasted no time getting to work on his campaign promises. After a successful bid in the Wyoming Republican gubernatorial primary, Barlow launched a platform for his Healthcare Strike Team.
The Strike Team will convene healthcare stakeholders throughout Wyoming to advise and deliver actionable recommendations for day one of the Barlow administration.
“On January 4th, I want to have specific action items that my administration can tackle to make healthcare better in Wyoming. We can’t solve healthcare on day one, but I will take consistent, meaningful steps to improve healthcare in Wyoming.”
Barlow continued, “Wyoming has many people interested in improving healthcare. Wyoming’s providers, hospitals, payers, and patients are informed and engaged. The Strike Team will take in all perspectives, parse out the priorities, and identify who can deliver results: the State of Wyoming, local governments, the Wyoming legislature, federal government, private sector, or a combination of all five.”
Barlow will spend time in the coming months meeting with stakeholders who offer varying perspectives on healthcare in Wyoming, while continuing to campaign and prepare for the general election on November 3rd. Those with ideas or interest can visit barlowforwyo.com/healthcare, local input is essential to how the team can help communities across the state.
The Healthcare Strike Team will include more than healthcare providers and patients. Barlow said he will also seek out business leaders who provide health insurance to their employees, local governments, and economic development offices to understand community priorities with healthcare.
“I have engaged with people who have valuable perspectives on healthcare. Those conversations emphasized that the people you want in the room largely depend on the problem you are trying to solve. We all know there are challenges but we also know there are opportunities. Now it is time to prioritize which ones we will tackle first.”
Barlow and his team will review work already underway by other groups, the legislature, and the Wyoming Department of Health.“Wyoming has spent a lot of time studying healthcare, and there are good ideas already on the table. We will look closely at that work, so we champion the best ideas and solutions.”
That review will include WY We Care, the state’s ongoing effort focused on mental health issues, as well as the Wyoming Legislature’s Task Force on Health Insurance Affordability. Barlow will also review HB 122, the Wyoming Rural Health Transformation Sustainability, Accountability and Fiscal Protection Act, which passed the Wyoming Legislature last legislative session.
“Governor Gordon, Senator Barrasso, legislative leadership, and the Wyoming Department of Health worked hard to create Wyoming’s response to the federal Rural Health Transformation Program (RHT). Wyoming’s Year 1 grant application was approved in May for over $200 million. We will be good stewards of those funds and engage now to ensure future requests maximize their benefits to Wyoming. The RHT is a five-year program, and the funding available to our state could be truly impactful along with other actions Wyoming steps up with through our Strike Team efforts.”
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