Salt Lake City — The Alliance for a Better UTAH has released the following statement in response to Utah Governor Gary Herbert’s continued hesitation over whether to expand Medicaid in Utah:
“Governor Herbert is delaying a decision on Medicaid expansion until next year because he’s waiting to figure out the ‘actual true costs’ of the expansion. But the information is already in. If we don’t expand, Utahns will pay federal taxes to finance the expansion of Medicaid in many other states, while we miss out on the business and financial benefits of expansion. An independent study released earlier this year demonstrated that Medicaid expansion would save Utah over 130 million dollars over the next 10 years. And then there is the fact that 130,000 currently uninsured Utahns will get health insurance with Medicaid expansion. These are the ‘actual true costs’ of expansion, all 130,000 of them.
“The truth is, Utahns need this expansion. This is a delay with no purpose but political coverage from, and unnecessary deference to, the state legislature. We should expand Medicaid now. There is no need to wait except to attempt to make a political statement at the expense of the most at-risk among us.”
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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.