Roland Ruegner has had a bone marrow transplant that was his only hope against leukemia. Cancer-free, he asked the Medical Care Advisory Committee Thursday to give poor people the hope insurance gave him.
Ruegner was one of dozens who testified at a public hearing designed to help the State Health Department set Medicaid budget priorities. Lawmakers will consider its list during the appropriations process.The department identified more than $28 million in serious "building block" needs for the fiscal year that begins next July. Since it's unlikely lawmakers will fund all of those needs, the department must prioritize.
Charlotte Benavidez told of watching people in serious medical crisis unable to communicate with paramedics because of language barriers. The English as a Second Language coordinator at Salt Lake Community High has seen two heart attacks, a massive seizure and an infant who stopped breathing. None of those involved could tell paramedics what was wrong.
The department wants $104,000 for interpreters to go with non-English-speaking people to doctors and hospitals. Even that won't help in an on-site emergency.
Tuberculosis medicine was controversial. The No. 1 priority prior to the hearing, TB has re-emerged among Utah's homeless. Dr. John Hylen said a drug-resistant TB requires four costly drugs. "If we are unable to control it and a drug-resistant form is transmitted to other people, this is a major health-care concern," he said.
But Carol Warner of Jedi Women said the request should be quartered and more money put into care for low-income families trying to get off welfare.
Dentist Paul Hopkins told panelists not to keep dental payments so low that no one will accept Medicaid. He works one day a week on Medicaid cases. Many dentists already reject those patients because payment is so low.
Several people spoke about the need for at-home attendant care for people who are severely disabled. Without the help, they will need more costly nursing home placements, said Debbie Bettis, who is blind and uses a wheelchair.
Carol Edic spoke movingly of her battle to keep her teenage son, who has cerebral palsy, at home. Without outside help, she will have to put him in a nursing home that could cost up to $65,000 a year.
Edic also asked for money for specialized wheelchairs. Her son, she said, is growing. His wheelchair, which is very costly because of the U-shape of his spine, must be replaced as he grows.
Other needs include funding to expand eligibility for the Utah Medical Assistance Program, Utah's final safety net for people with acute and life-threatening conditions, increased rates for physical therapy, physicians, pharmacists and ambulance services and money for the general assistance self-sufficiency program, which takes care of a single medical condition that may keep people from being employable.