Salt Lake City–The political battle between House Speaker Becky Lockhart and Governor Gary Herbert reached a crescendo today with the unveiling of Herbert’s plan to provide healthcare to poor Utahns. In sharp contrast to Lockhart’s plan, Herbert’s Healthy Utah Plan would cover 111,000 people by offering subsidies to purchase private insurance.
The Alliance for a Better UTAH, which formed the Coalition for a Compassionate Utah last year to advocate for Medicaid expansion, has released the following statement:
“In sharp contrast to Speaker Lockhart’s health care proposal, which appears to be driven almost exclusively by ideological concerns and political ambition, the Governor’s plan has the unique advantage of being pragmatic. It is also compassionate. We agree with Herbert that poor Utahns are just as deserving of compassion as those with larger tax bills. Though some details remain unclear, including whether or not the federal government will accept Governor Herbert’s uniquely Utah solution, any plan that offers at least comparable or superior coverage to Medicaid expansion certainly has our support. ”
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Contact:
Maryann Martindale
Executive Director, Alliance for a Better UTAH
801.557.1532 | maryann@betterutah.org
Isaac Holyoak
Communications Director, Alliance for a Better UTAH
801.664.9751 | isaac@betterutah.org
