With the start of the Utah legislative session at hand, I have read with great concern that some legislators, including Sen. Allen Christensen, may propose a bill to repeal or replace the full expansion of Medicaid. The reason given was expense to the state of Utah.
We, as a state, have been paying money to the federal government for Medicaid expansion since the passage of the Affordable Care Act. This money has been distributed to other states to fund their Medicaid patients.
With full Medicaid expansion in Utah, we would be able to utilize the funding here to help our own Medicaid patients. The initiative also built in a small sales tax to help with the costs.
Our citizens voted to expand Medicaid by nearly 70,000 votes. We want the initiative that was approved in November, and not a repeal nor a replacement. Any legislator who seeks to repeal or replace is patronizing and disingenuous.
Our citizens are awaiting health care coverage with the full expansion of Medicaid starting April 1. Do not mess with our initiative (Prop 3), and fully expand Medicaid for Utah.
Diane Forster-Burke, Cottonwood Heights
