The Wyoming State Legislature budget session reached the midway point last week and what is known as the crossover point on Tuesday. The crossover point is the deadline for bills being passed by their primary house. Any bill that had not passed on third reading from its house of origin by Tuesday will not be considered any further during this session.

According to the Legislative Service Office, 154 of the 281 bills created for this session are still active.

HB0155, introduced by Rep. Thomas Lubnau, would create the Wyoming Physician Recruitment Program, which would consist of an $800,000 continuing appropriation that would be distributed in the form of grants to recruit physicians. Hospitals, physicians and others in the private sector who are recruiting physicians could submit applications to the Department of Health, which will award the grants based on need.

The grants cannot be used by physicians who will be employed by the state of Wyoming or by the federal government. The Department of Defense can qualify for these grants; however, according to the language of the bill, at least one half of the appropriation would have to go to for-profit enterprises.

The grant can reimburse recruiting costs up to $10,000, relocation expenses up to $20,000, malpractice insurance for two years up to $10,000 and signing bonuses up to $30,000. The grants can also be used to repay a physician’s student loans for up to $30,000 per year.

Before obtaining a grant, the physician must meet several requirements. First, he or she must relocate their practice to Wyoming. Second, he or she must agree to practice in whatever community they were recruited to for at least two years. He or she must also agree to treat patients in underserved areas of the state. If that agreement is violated, the physician must pay back all of the grant money to the state with 10 percent interest.

This is not the first time a physician recruitment grant proposal has come before the state legislature. A similar proposal failed introduction in the Senate earlier this session. Another similar proposal was defeated in the 2007 session.

According to Banner Health, 85 percent of all hospitals and clinics are recruiting nation wide. Turnover rates among physicians can range from 5 to 20 percent and are much higher during the first three years of employment. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has identified 17 of Wyoming’s 23 counties as having a shortage of primary care practitioners.

Carie Campbell, practice administrator at Community Hospital, said that other states often recruit physicians from Wyoming because of the long distances, isolation, high number of very small towns and the high cost of malpractice insurance.

“It’s tough to get malpractice and it’s very expensive,” Campbell said.

However, Torrington does have an advantage over many of Wyoming’s small towns, she said, since it has a stable hospital and a stable population of physicians already in place.

HB0155 passed on third reading Tuesday morning and is awaiting introduction into the senate.

Another bill that passed the House is HB0137, which would institute the so-called “castle doctrine,” which grants immunity from prosecution to someone who uses physical or deadly force under certain circumstances.

These circumstances include response to a crime against a person or property such as burglary or larceny. The judiciary committee amended the bill to only grant immunity from civil cases. A person who uses physical or deadly force against someone committing a crime may still be subject to criminal prosecution if such action was found to be unlawful under current statutes.

HB0010, passed by the House Monday, would raise some fees at state parks. Some of the increases in the bill include raising the daily use fee for state parks from $2 to $4 for Wyoming residents and from $4 to $6 for nonresidents as well as raising the daily use fee for historic sites from $1 to $2 for residents and from $2 to $4 for non-residents.

An amendment from Rep. Mark Semlek sparked discussion on the House floor during consideration of the bill. Semlek opposed raising the nonresident overnight camping fee from $8 to $11. He noted that in many states surrounding Wyoming, the resident and nonresident fees were either very close or the same.

“I think that’s an equality issue,” Semlek said. “I think that sends a very bad message to the people who come to Wyoming and intend to use our state parks.”

Speaking in opposition to the amendment was Rep. Charles Childers, who said that a lot of thought had gone into these user fees, which would be used to improve the park system.

“I think it’s highly appropriate that we put these increases in place,” Childers said.

Also speaking in opposition was Rep. Pete Illoway, who said raising the fees may help with overcrowding.

“All I’ve heard from my constituents in the two parks west of Cheyenne is that these folks are overrun with out of state campers,” Illoway said.

Semlek concluded his amendment proposal by stating that a raise in fees would be counterproductive to economic development and tourism. His amendment, along with another that would eliminate the raise in entry fees, was defeated and the bill passed the House.

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