Utah Medicaid expansion proposal fails

Utah Republicans rejected a proposal from state leaders to expand Medicaid under Obamacare, immediately sparking concerns about whether the expansion would be approved. Wednesday, we’ll discuss how the plan was crafted, why it failed, and ask what comes next Medicaid in Utah.

“There are Utahns in need”, Curtis said, “And just because they didn’t vote to support this plan last night does not meet that those Utahns, that their illness goes away”.

In the meantime, thousands of Utahns remain without coverage in the state. “That’s where we can get the votes in the House and the Senate”.

The House Republican caucus will hold a straw-poll vote to gauge whether there’s enough support for the plan to be considered in a special session this year.

RyLee Curtis from the Utah Health Policy Project explained, “This different plan has a different funding mechanism in it, which would tax hospitals and providers, because instead of seeing these patients who are uninsured now they’re getting reimbursed at commercial rates to see these patients, so the Committee of 6 wanted to see them share the cost in the program”. “As new plans are brought forward, the governor maintains that his Healthy Utah proposal was the most innovative and cost efficient for the state”.

“Because we’re not dealing with a behemoth of a federal government and all its regulations, we might be able to find a way to get water at the end of the row, and help those who truly need it without it being such a larger plan and having to comply with the ACA regulations”, Hughes says. “There’s the political will, there’s the understanding people continue to suffer while they wait”, she said.

Curtis said she is a participating in a town hall meeting on Medicaid expansion at the Salt Lake City Public Library from 7 p.m.to 9 p.m. Thursday.

State Democrats support Utah Access Plus and are pushing for an open debate, reports The Washington Times.