Republican Physician Paul Johnson declared his bid for a seat in House District 44, according to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. The district primarily covers downtown Cheyenne, Wyo.
Here are six things to know.
1. One of Dr. Johnson's main concerns is improving access to healthcare.
He said the state needs "new competition on the health insurance exchange to drive prices down" and referenced an Urban Institute report showing a 70 percent spike in premiums in the state’s insurance exchange program from 2017 to 2018.
2. Dr. Johnson would address difficulty recruiting and retaining physicians by attracting industries to Wyoming to "help make the state more attractive to everyone, including medical professionals," he said. This policy mirrors the efforts of Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead, R, to improve the state’s economic landscape.
3. An owner of the Cheyenne, Wyo.-based High Plains Surgical Center, Dr. Johnson said he has experienced the challenges faced by small-business owners.
4. With 14 years of medical experience, Dr. Johnson sits on the University of Wyoming College of Health Sciences and WWAMI medical education program advisory boards, and chairs Laramie, Wyo.-based Ivinson Memorial Hospital's department of surgery. He is past president of the Wyoming Medical Society and the STRIDE Learning Center board.
"Working with these organizations has given me a lot of experience with health policy and the way that government works," he told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.
5. Dr. Johnson graduated from the the University of Wyoming’s WWAMI medical education program at the University of Washington in Seattle and completed an otolaryngology residency at New York City-based Columbia University.
6. Dr. Johnson is the first to declare candidacy for the seat being vacated by Rep. James Byrd, D-Cheyenne, who will run for Wyoming secretary of state after five terms representing the district.