More than a dozen advocates for low-income residents and the disabled pleaded with Utah lawmakers Friday to fund any costs involved in expanding Medicaid.
Raymond Ward, a family doctor, said Utah would send $450 million in tax money to other states if it opts out of the Medicaid piece of the Affordable Care Act.
Access to basic health care often means the difference between one’s ability to work and not work, said Ward, a member of the Utah Academy of Family Physicians, a 500-member group that endorses Medicaid expansion.
And sometimes such access "is the difference between living and dying," said Ward.
The decision to expand Medicaid to cover an estimated 145,000 more low-income Utahns is up to Gov. Gary Herbert, but if there are higher costs, the Legislature will have to approve the tab. Friday’s public hearing was before the Social Services Appropriation Subcommittee.
Thirteen advocates spoke for Medicaid expansion, and the Utah Medical Association gave a hedged endorsement. Michelle McOmber, its chief executive officer, said 250 doctors debated the issue at a recent meeting. Salt Lake Tribune
