Legal · WY
Doctor Argues Wyoming Should Expand Medicaid for Addiction Care
In a WyoFile opinion piece, Dr. Tom Hogarty, a dermatologist trained in addiction medicine, argues that dividing drugs into "legal" and "illegal" categories creates a harmful "them and us" mentality that distorts U.S. drug policy. He cites alcohol and tobacco deaths far outnumbering fentanyl deaths nationally and in Wyoming, and criticizes the War on Drugs for spending 80% of its budget on interdiction and incarceration rather than treatment. Hogarty contends addiction is a universal human health problem regardless of substance legality, and calls for protecting and expanding Medicaid along with mental health and substance abuse treatment funding as a humane alternative to punitive drug policy.
Why it mattersFor Wyoming Medicaid stakeholders, the piece frames Medicaid expansion and behavioral health funding as central policy levers for addressing addiction, directly implicating coverage and reimbursement debates in a non-expansion state.