'Fight goes on' for Healthy Utah, Herbert says


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SALT LAKE CITY — Gov. Gary Herbert pledged Thursday that "the fight goes on" for his Healthy Utah alternative to Medicaid expansion in the final days of the 2015 Legislature.

Democrats jumped into the battle, unsuccessfully attempting to bring SB164 back after the bill failed 4-9 in the House Business and Labor Committee after a Wednesday night hearing.

Their effort came hours after more than 200 supporters of Healthy Utah, including political, religious, community and health organization leaders, rallied in the Capitol rotunda to demand legislators pass the governor's plan.

Democrats hold just 12 of the 75 House seats, but pushed to move SB164, which has already passed the Republican-controlled Senate, to the list of bills to be voted on by the full House.

Rep. Becky Edwards, R-North Salt Lake, was one of four Republicans who sided with the Democrats, telling her fellow representatives that to "sit on their hands" and not take the time to consider Healthy Utah "is irresponsible and frankly is selfish."

House Majority Leader Jim Dunnigan, R-Taylorsville, the sponsor of the House leadership's counter proposal to Healthy Utah, said letting a failed bill come to the floor was a bad idea that would amount to a "do-over."

The governor's office had no comment on the failed procedural maneuver by the minority party. During his regular media availability earlier in the day, Herbert insisted Healthy Utah is not dead yet.

"I'm not dead, and I can tell you that I will continue to fight for the taxpayers of Utah," Herbert told reporters.

The governor said he is willing to call lawmakers back into special session if a deal can't be reached with GOP House leaders.

The committee passed Dunnigan's more limited plan, HB446, known as Utah Cares, that's supported by House leadership to deal with the expanded Medicaid coverage available to low-income Utahns under the Affordable Care Act.

Sharon Christiansen chants, "We want health care!" during a rally to Support Healthy Utah at the state Capitol in Salt Lake City, Thursday, March 5, 2015. (Photo: Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
Sharon Christiansen chants, "We want health care!" during a rally to Support Healthy Utah at the state Capitol in Salt Lake City, Thursday, March 5, 2015. (Photo: Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)

Unlike Healthy Utah, which has been approved the Senate, the House plan covers a limited number of Utahns eligible for Medicaid expansion using more state dollars to provide what has been described as "Yugo" quality coverage to many participants.

The House moved Thursday to schedule a vote on Utah Cares at 11 a.m. Friday.

House Minority Leader Brian King, D-Salt Lake City, said Democrats are united against Utah Cares. King said given that a number of Republicans would rather do nothing on Medicaid expansion this session, supporters of Utah Cares may face a close vote.

House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, said there's ample time for Utah Cares, introduced earlier this week, to be considered by the Senate before the session ends March 12.

Senate President Wayne Niederhauser, R-Sandy, said he watched Healthy Utah "go down in flames" Wednesday night, but GOP senators have talked about Utah Cares.

"We'll see what happens if we get it," he said.

Niederhauser said he thinks there's still time to work out a deal on Medicaid before the legislative session ends.

The governor said he believes the Senate "will have a hard time swallowing" Utah Cares because it returns less federal money to the state. He has said the state's $25 million investment in Healthy Utah will return 37 times as much in federal funds.

Because Utahns are sending some $800 million in taxes to Washington as a result of President Barack Obama's signature health care law, Herbert said they're paying for Cadillac coverage that will go somewhere else without Healthy Utah.

Hughes said he was called Wednesday night by a key member of the U.S. House, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, and warned that the Medicaid cost sharing promised by the federal government is likely to be cut by Congress in the future.


We need to come together to ensure more than bare bones care. We need full quality heath coverage. Anything less than full is fatal.

–Stacy Stanford, a Utahn with a neurological disorder


The cost sharing accounts for the nearly $1 billion in federal tax dollars that Herbert said Healthy Utah would help bring back to the state because all Utahns eligible for Medicaid expansion would be covered.

Hughes said there wasn't a "moral imperative" to expand Medicaid until the discussion shifted to the amount of federal dollars available.

The governor called himself a "Ronald Reagan Republican. I believe in the safety net issues he talked about, that we have a responsibility to take care of those who are most vulnerable amongst us."

Herbert also took another jab at the speaker's pet project, moving the aging Utah State Prison from his Draper House district. The governor said the expense associated with Utah Cares might force rethinking spending on a prison move.

At the rally, the Right Rev. Scott Hayashi, Episcopal Bishop of Utah, called the passage of Healthy Utah a “moral imperative” that shouldn’t be drowned by politics.

He said House members who oppose Healthy Utah should “come out and tell the young child who lost an uninsured mother or father due to a lack of health care why they do not support it.”

KSL Newsradio's Doug Wright said lawmakers need to know it's "never too late to do the right thing. It’s never too late to do the compassionate thing. It’s never too late to do the moral thing. We need this now.”

Stacy Stanford, a Utahn suffering from a neurological disorder that resulted from a car accident in 2010, rose from her wheelchair to speak at the rally about what Healthy Utah would do for her and others.

“We need to come together to ensure more than bare bones care,” she said. “We need full quality heath coverage. Anything less than full is fatal.”

Contributing: Katie McKellar, Dennis Romboy

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