The $58M “Cut” to Tribal Health Was an Accounting Shuffle, Committee Chair Says

What looked like a brutal $58 million budget hit to tribal health services turned out to be a bookkeeping move – and not a loss of money – Rep. John Bear told a stunned crowd Tuesday, Oil City News reports.

Bear, chairman of Wyoming’s Joint Appropriations Committee, walked into a Select Committee on Tribal Relations meeting in Riverton and announced over Zoom that the funds “were never ever in jeopardy.” His explanation – that the January change was an accounting maneuver to avoid repeatedly re-doing budget numbers as federally mandated reimbursement rates bounced around – drew audible relief from tribal leaders, health-care advocates and some lawmakers who’d feared the worst.

The drama began on Jan. 13 during long budget hearings, when Sheridan Republican Rep. Ken Pendergraft proposed shaving $58 million from the state’s federal spending authority for the Indian Health Service. That move would have blocked tribal facilities from receiving higher, federally mandated Medicaid reimbursement rates – money that helps keep clinics open and staff paid.

“This is an ask for a [spending] increase,” Rep. Trey Sherwood, D-Laramie, shot back at the time, noting the money was 100% federal and that Wyoming is required by law to adopt the new rates. Pendergraft, aligned with the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, countered that the state has become “addicted” to government spending and argued for slowing the “acceleration.” The amendment passed the Appropriations panel 9–3, prompting outrage outside the Capitol. Protesters gathered at Central Wyoming College chanting “honor the treaties” as the Tribal Relations meeting began.

Wind River Family and Community Health Care CEO Rick Brannan – whose clinic system is the largest employer in Fremont County – made the stakes clear:

“I am so grateful, because without the funding, our people would die,” he told the committee.

Bear’s clarification Tuesday explained the mechanics: JAC temporarily removed the line item so it wouldn’t have to constantly update the budget as reimbursement rates changed. The $58 million figure, Bear said, was an overestimate; with updated rates the actual needed authority is closer to $41 million. He said the Appropriations Committee will likely restore that $41 million in spending authority before the full budget session kicks off on Feb. 9.

That prompt fix turned anger into relief. Sen. Mike Gierau, who earlier called the proposed cut “draconian,” said he was “thrilled beyond measure,” and Tribal Relations co-chair Sen. Cale Case called it “a good day.”

Still, the episode left scars. Tribal leaders and allies argued the initial vote – however procedural – showed a dangerous lack of understanding about treaty obligations and the practical impact on clinics that operate under so-called “638” compacts. Tribal-run clinics rely on Medicaid reimbursements and Indian Health Service support; any hiccup can ripple through staffing, medicines and patient care.

Bottom line: what many Wyomingites read as a savage budget cut was, according to the budget chair, a paper shuffle meant to manage accounting headaches from wildly shifting federal rates. The money, Bear insisted – and tribal health leaders hope – will flow as intended, and quickly.