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5 Things Utahns Should Know About Medicaid Expansion

jeffmiller.house.gov
/
CNN Politics

Thursday, May 21, marks the halfway point between the end of the 2015 Legislative Session and the self-imposed deadline of July 31 for Utah lawmakers to find a sustainable solution for the state’s healthcare coverage gap.

The following are a few things Utahns should know about expanding Medicaid.

1. Full expansion would cost taxpayers less than partial expansion.

  As part of the Affordable Care Act, the federal government will finance Medicaid in Utah for the first year of expansion. After that, the federal share will drop incrementally from 100 percent to 90 percent until 2020. From that point on, the federal government will pay 90 percent of Utah’s healthcare costs, while the state will contribute 10 percent.

2. Gov. Gary Herbert's Committee of Six is a bipartisan team of lawmakers.

  The group consists of Gov. Herbert, Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, House Majority Leader Jim Dunnigan, Senate President Wayne Niederhauser, Sen. Brian Shiozawa and House Speaker Greg Hughes, who notably opposed the governor’s Healthy Utah bill in the 2015 Legislative Session.

Lt. Gov. Cox said the committee has worked well together, thus far.

“We’re still kind of in the early stages, but it’s been very productive, at least the ability to have open discussions,” he said.

Rep. Dunnigan added that the group was able to accomplish a lot three weeks ago in Washington, D.C. Cox was not able to accompany them.

“As you may imagine, getting those six people together is a calendaring challenge,” Dunnigan said. “We are meeting regularly and periodically and working on it.”

3. Healthcare expansion costs will ultimately equate to $77.8 million per year.

   Currently, Utah is paying $680 million in implementation costs of the Affordable Care Act and $2.3 billion in Medicaid expenses.

4. 53,000 Utahns and their families are now affected by the coverage gap, which prevents them from seeing providers and receiving necessary medical attention.

If lawmakers can come to an agreement, they expect the number of Utahns enrolled in the new coverage will reach 146,000 by 2021.

“So the biggest concern – and it’s one that the governor and I have shared – is the inability for sure the growth of this expansion, and to be able to protect our budgets from overwhelming growth,” Cox said.

5. Any plan approved by the Committee of Six will ensure individuals are given the option to receive help from the Department of Workforce Services to find employment or develop skills to improve their current employment situation.

Cox said the Committee of Six hopes to have a healthcare expansion bill to present in a special legislative session in August.