Wyoming

Wyoming has the best DPC law on the books!  It was signed into law by Governor Mead on Feb 29, 2016 and was encoded in Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 26-1-104(a)(vi) and § 26-22-301(c).  This makes Wyoming the 15th state with DPC legislation (and the 11th with helpful legislation).  Many new DPC practices have been launched within Wyoming within the past year.  As a precaution, we continue to recommend that Wyoming practices review the Wyoming Insurance Code when planning their practice. This is the entire Wyoming DPC Law:

This (insurance) code does not apply to:
(vi) A direct primary care agreement. A direct primary care agreement means a written agreement that:
(A) Is between a patient or their legal representative and a health care provider;
(B) Allows either party to terminate the agreement in writing, without penalty or payment of a termination fee, at any time or after notice as specified in the agreement which notice shall not exceed sixty (60) days;
(C) Describes the health care services to be provided in exchange for payment of a periodic fee;
(D) Specifies the periodic fee required and any additional fees that may be charged;
(E) May allow the periodic fee and any additional fees to be paid by a third party;
(F) Prohibits the provider from charging or receiving additional compensation for health care services included in the periodic fee; and
(G) Conspicuously and prominently states that the agreement is not health insurance and does not meet any individual health insurance mandate that may be required by federal law.

• Dr. Eskew is a family physician that started his medical training in West Virginia, and he is often asked why he did not return to the state.  In this manuscript in the West Virginia Medical Journal he explains some of the reasons he chose to move to Wyoming. 
  Why this West Virginia Trained Physician Moved to Wyoming, Eskew, P.  WV J Med, 2015;111(6):8-9. 
  (Available open-access online via the West Virginia Medical Journal website)

• The Fall 2015 (Vol 6, No. 2) edition of Wyoming Medicine highlighted DPC in multiple articles.  

• Physician Employment Contracting Overview by Nick Healey

• Covenants not to compete are generally enforced in Wyoming (as described in sections 6 & 7 in CBM Geosolutions In v Gas Sensing Technology Corp by the Wyoming Supreme Court in 2009)

• Wyoming physicians have access to many helpful (free) resources:

  • Wyoming Telehealth Network (a free telemedicine platform)

  • Wyoming Department of Health forms

  • Wyoming Total Health Record (free EMR if you live in Wyoming)

• Wyoming Nurse Practitioners have independent practice rights, and as of 2022 Physician Assistants have independent practice rights as well.