by Charles Katebi Testimony before the Wyoming Labor, Health, and Social Services Committee, August 25, 2016 My name is Charlie Katebi. I'm a policy analyst with the Wyoming Liberty Group. I'd like to thank the Department of Health for researching and bringing greater attention to Wyoming's lack of healthcare transparency, and why we need greater c...

We read frequently about employers who desperately want to hire and put people to work. And we often read about how young people are desperate to find jobs "with a living wage." So why aren't they teaming up and living happily ever after? Where's the disconnect? It's in basic skills. Employers routinely report that people they interview don't have ...

Wyoming has been paying a ton of money for K-12 education since 2005. The reason for the heavy spending? It was a major Wyoming Supreme Court/Legislative overhaul of the way our schools were being funded to equalize spending among students. Now we find that the consultants, on whose advice the spending was largely based, criticize the system for we...

by Charles Katebi Since Obamacare became law, patients have seen their health insurance choices disappear. There are fewer insurers selling fewer plans with narrower networks than ever before. And now Obamacare's architects want to snuff out the few remaining private options and replace them with government rationing and substandard healthcare. Pre...

CHEYENNE, WY: The Wyoming Liberty Group released its Taxpayer Protection poll question results today, showing that 65 percent of respondents are more likely to vote for a candidate who has signed a pledge promising to not raise state taxes. "The people of Wyoming are sensible so of course are more likely to vote for candidates who commit to voting ...

Charlie Katebi and Glenn Woods discuss the debate over Medicaid expansion in Wyoming and why it threatens the health of vulnerable and low income patients. 

by Charles Katebi There's no question that Wyoming needs reforms that make healthcare more affordable, accessible, and responsive to the needs of patients. Expanding Medicaid under Obamacare is not one of them. Instead, the program crowds out private insurance, underpays doctors, and delivers terrible outcomes to patients. For starters, Medicaid ex...

In this short video, Charlie Katebi explains why Medicaid can't afford to take care of Wyoming's most vulnerable patients. It's time for something new. 

by Charles Katebi Every year, Wyoming taxpayers spend hundreds of millions of dollars on Medicaid. Yet we have little to say in its management. The federal government mandates who Medicaid covers, what it pays for, and how it pays doctors. Because of all these mandates, Medicaid has grown too large and cumbersome to ensure patients have reliable ac...

State revenues are declining dramatically and are expected to continue to decline. That means big ticket items, even crucial ones like K-12 education, must feel the pinch. No one wants the quality of education in Wyoming to drop, but the spending on it must decrease. Why? The Consensus Revenue Estimating Group (CREG) projected in January that total...

We often point to the third-party payer problem as the cause of the explosion in health care costs. Insurers pay doctors who provide services to patients. This separation of payer and patient means the patient has little incentive to question the cost or even the quality of service. Now imagine what would happen if a big part of a state's spending ...

Charlie Katebi and KGAB's Gary Freeman discuss Governor Matt Mead's budget cuts and how the state's fiscal crisis exposes Medicaid's empty promises to patients. 

WyLiberty's financial analyst Bob Nelson talks about the annual cost of K-12 education in Wyoming.  

An accidental step towards real reform may benefit the charitable sector. Wyoming government revenues will not meet projections for the 2017-18 biennium. With a projected shortfall of between $240 and $510 million, Governor Mead responded by cutting the 2017-18 biennium budget by $248 million, or about 8-percent of the 2-year general fund budget of...

Free speech is under attack from three main sources around the world. Government repression has increased. After the Soviet Union fell, Russia enjoyed a free-for-all. Alas, today Mr. Putin has tightened the muzzle again. A number of non-state actors are at that game. Journalists in Mexico who investigate corruption may end up dead. Jihadists shoot ...

Charlie Katebi and John Birbari discuss the budget crisis' impending impact on Medicaid and how patient-centered reforms can give Medicaid patients greater control over their healthcare and deliver better value for taxpayers. 

by Charles Katebi Liberals frequently claim that Medicaid expands healthcare options to the less fortunate. But without major reforms, Medicaid will become a major barrier for patients seeking care. Medicaid's looming threat to patients stems from its wasteful reimbursement regime. The program pays most doctors, hospitals, and clinics on a fee-for-...

by Charles Katebi Wyoming originally opted into Medicaid to help low-income individuals access medical care. But unless this entitlement undergoes systemic reforms, patients will find it harder than ever to get healthcare. At Wyoming's Joint Labor, Health, and Social Services Committee meeting in Casper, the Department of Health announced it will c...

In Wyoming, some politicians are looking high and low for ways to take your money, especially if they can make it look like someone else is slipping his hand into your pocket. One way that popped up during a recent Revenue Committee meeting is a tax on Internet retail sales. Proponents justify this tax grab in two ways. First, the need for more tax...

by Charles Katebi Governor Matt Mead's critics rightly chastised his plan to expand Medicaid without any foreseeable way of paying for new patients. Now it turns out we can't even afford totake care of patients already on Medicaid. In April, Wyoming's Consensus Revenue Estimating Group (or CREG) reported that the state will take in $110 to $130 mil...