Bill
# SF005
Hospital Bankruptcy Proceedings
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Summary
Bill Description
AN ACT relating to counties; authorizing county memorial hospitals and hospital districts to file for bankruptcy under chapter 9 of the United States bankruptcy code as specified; and providing for an effective date.
Notes
This legislative bill amends Wyoming Statutes W.S. 18-8-109 and 35-2-438 to expand the authority of hospital trustees in county memorial hospitals and hospital districts to pursue bankruptcy under Chapter 9 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code or outright dissolution, with minimal public input. By streamlining these processes and bypassing voter approval for bankruptcy in districts, the bill risks undermining community oversight, potentially leading to abrupt closures of vital healthcare facilities and prioritizing financial expediency over public health needs.
Amendments to W.S. 18-8-109(a), (b), and (c) allow trustees to vote for bankruptcy or dissolution, requiring only county commissioner approval for county hospitals. This hands significant decision-making to unelected boards, who can then "take all action necessary" to proceed, potentially sidelining broader stakeholder input and rushing through plans that could devastate local services.
The new W.S. 35-2-438(d) explicitly exempts bankruptcy filings from needing a vote by qualified electors in hospital districts. While it mandates a mere seven-day public posting of the petition and plan on a website (if one exists), this token transparency measure is inadequate, as it assumes widespread access and awareness, leaving many residents—especially in rural areas—uninformed and voiceless.
The seven-day posting requirement before trustees' meetings is critically brief, offering little time for public review, comment, or opposition. This could enable secretive or poorly vetted decisions, exacerbating distrust in hospital governance and allowing financial mismanagement to culminate in closures without meaningful accountability.
This bill could accelerate the erosion of rural healthcare infrastructure in Wyoming, where memorial hospitals and districts often serve as lifelines for isolated communities. By reducing democratic checks and empowering trustees to fast-track bankruptcy or dissolution, it invites financial shortcuts that prioritize debt relief over patient care. This reform signals a troubling shift toward less accountable governance, fostering inequality and weakening public trust in essential institutions.
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