Utah lawmakers still at odds over how to properly expand Medicaid throughout the state

<p dir=”ltr”><span>Health advocates in Utah are publicly voicing their concerns with the state legislature over their failure to expand Medicaid, which they claim indirectly resulted in hundreds of deaths.</span></p><p dir=”ltr”><span>According to</span> <a href=”http://www.good4utah.com/news/local-news/health-care-advocates-voice-disapproval-of-utah-state-legislature”><span>Good4Utah.com</span></a><span>, David Irvine of the Alliance for a Better Utah is one of the many residents who are tired of the senseless quarreling within the state government, and who are demanding a change in their laws regarding Medicaid.</span></p><p dir=”ltr”><span>”Every day that they don’t take action more people die,” said Irvine.</span></p><p dir=”ltr”><span>To illustrate their point, Alliance for a Better Utah members planted 361 crosses around the state capitol building. Each cross is meant to represent one of the 361 lives that have been lost as a result of the government’s failure to solve the Medicaid crisis in a timely manner.</span></p><p dir=”ltr”><span>”Nobody is taking the lead, nobody is recognizing it takes real skillful, creative, wise, political leadership to get a program like this accomplished,” said Irvine.</span></p><p dir=”ltr”><span>Various legislation, including the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, requires that organizations with</span> <a href=”http://www.connectedbenefits.com/blog/why-it-pays-to-offer-benefits-to-part-time-employees”><span>over 50 full-time employees</span></a> <span>offer appropriate health benefits to their staff.</span></p><p dir=”ltr”><span>Medicaid is a joint program that is supposed to be equally funded by the federal and state governments. In the case of Utah, those who are not privy to health benefits from their workplace should be covered by Medicaid, but legislators dragging their feet is delaying that from happening.</span></p><p dir=”ltr”><span>A whopping 53,000 Utahns currently do not have health care of any kind. Legislators keep assuring the public that change is on the horizon, but there isn’t a shred of evidence to support their claims.</span></p><p dir=”ltr”><span>Medicaid isn’t even the only health care crisis within the state of Utah. According to local Salt Lake City affiliate</span> <a href=”http://fox13now.com/2015/10/21/health-insurance-premiums-increase-in-utah/”><span>Fox 13</span></a><span>, every health insurer in the Utah federal exchange recently increased their premiums by jaw-dropping amounts.</span></p><p dir=”ltr”><span>”I thought that was a mistake. I think it’s obscene,” said resident Oswaldo Demoura after receiving a monthly bill from Arches Mutual Insurance totaling $416.59, over 300% more than his former premium of $126.22.</span></p><p dir=”ltr”><span>Both the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House in Utah said this issue “won’t go away.” Legislators continue to assure the public that is will be a main topic of discussion at upcoming meetings, but residents don’t want to wait for an upcoming meeting.</span></p><p dir=”ltr”><span>Utahns want answers now, and it looks like they won’t get any for quite some time.</span></p>

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