Lawmakers still divided over accepting federal Medicaid plan


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SALT LAKE CITY — During the final days of the Legislative session, the discussion of Medicaid in Utah has continued to bring divided opinions. On Friday, a bill was proposed to bar the state from accepting federal money.

The federal government established a plan to provide health insurance for about 131,000 Utahns as well as the federal money to fund the Medicaid for the first 10 years. Utah would receive a half a billion dollars each year with the Medicaid program.

However, several conservative groups want to reject the Medicaid program.

"We can either choose willingly to submit ourselves to further federal bondage with a false promise, or we can choose to take the first step into the animating contest of freedom," said Rep. Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan. "But there are no easy answers. There are simple ones."

Ivory and other conservatives support a bill that would prohibit the Governor or the Department of Health from expanding Medicaid. Ivory and others said the federal government can't afford the program and that Utah may end up having to pay back a much larger amount of money than is received in the program.

"I cringe at this notion that we have to have coverage for everybody all the time," said Rep. Jacob Anderegg, R-Orem. "It's just not affordable in our current state."

However, advocates who support Medicaid expansion were trying to lobby legislators to vote against House Bill 391 amended unexpectedly earlier this week.

'We feel like this bill stops the conversation," said Brook Osterland, an American Cancer Society representative. "There's plenty of time to have a conversation about expanding or not expanding Medicaid. We feel like this just takes options off the table."

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert will make the final decision.

"For some people this is an ideological fight," Herbert said. "Not for me. I want to find out what's in the best interest of the people of Utah, and consider the cost, the benefit."

The governor is waiting for a cost-benefit study that will analyze the long-term effects of expanding Medicaid. Other conservative leaning states like Arizona and Florida have already chosen to accept the Medicaid plan. Utah is one of four states still undecided.

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Richard Piatt

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