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Richard Piatt reporting Salt Lake City businessman James Sorenson has come forward as the 1-million dollar donor to fund Medicaid dental coverage.
In addition to James Sorenson, Intermountain Healthcare has declared that they will donate $1 millions dollars. That means the $2 million needed to fund the Medicaid dental coverage has been acquired.
Sorenson's donation was originally labeled "anonymous." But inquiries from Eyewitness News and others prompted a late afternoon news conference at the Capitol today.
His identity was one of the best kept secrets on Capitol Hill for a while. But now he says he wants to focus on funding the dental coverage for the poor and elderly.
Sorenson originally wanted his 1-million dollar donation to be matched by others in the state to make 2-million dollars.
This is happening after the Legislature decided not to fund the 2-million in the most recent special session.
James Sorenson, $1-million donor: "I would like to stand by the governor and his desire to help those who have less and need more."
Bill Nelson, Intermountain Healthcare: "We think this is absolutely consistent with our charitable mission as an organization. And more importantly, it is so important to those that have those needs."
Thousands of people rely on the supplemental dental program as part of their Medicaid coverage.
Advocates argue dental coverage saves money in the long run, because neglect can lead to expensive emergency room visits.
But Legislators defend their decision.
Sen. Sheldon Killpack, (R) Syracuse: "What a lot of people aren't hearing is that fact that we put 100-miliion new dollars into Medicaid this year. And even with that we know we're not fully funding all the needs for all the basic programs of Medicaid."
Sen. Karen Hale, (D) Salt Lake City: "I'm not buying into that. I think we really be looking at what services we're providing, and what the needs of the people in our state are."
A lot of people are still outraged the state isn't funding the dental coverage.
But the reality is that even with Sorenson's and Intermountain Healthcare's money, Utah is facing serious Medicaid funding shortfalls because of Federal government cuts.
