Rep. Anderegg’s Medicaid Madness

Salt Lake City—In light of a maneuver in the state legislature designed to prevent Governor Herbert from accepting Medicaid expansion in Utah, Maryann Martindale, executive director of the Alliance for a Better UTAH, has issued the following statement:

“A transparent and open legislative process is essential for maintaining a fair political system. But that process was ignored on Wednesday of this week when Rep. Jake Anderegg pulled a fast one on Utah citizens by substituting out HB391, a bill that would have nullified the Affordable Care Act in Utah, with an entirely different bill aimed at blocking medicaid expansion.

“The last minute procedural shenanigans of Rep. Anderegg, in taking what was already a message bill, and replacing it with a substitute bill with no prior public vetting or time for review, is a serious defeat for public process. We agree with the reasonable Republicans and Democrats that sit on the House Business and Labor Committee–Reps. Anderson, Bird, Duckworth, Pitcher, Wheatley, and Wiley–who voted to stop the democratic process from being, in Rep. Bird’s words, hijacked by Anderegg’s move.

“The Supreme Court and the majority of American voters have upheld the Affordable Care Act as the law of the land. It wouldn’t be fair, as Rep. Anderson argued, for Utah taxpayers to foot the bill for Medicaid expansion in other states. We agree. Utahns lose out in a big way by rejecting medicaid expansion. It deserves full and fair public comment, not backroom dealings and procedural posturing.”
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Alliance for a Better Utah |  801.557.1532  | www.betterutah.org
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The Alliance for a Better UTAH is a year-round, multi-issue education and advocacy organization providing resources, commentary, and action on important public policy matters.

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