Thank you to Gov. Gary Herbert, Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, Sen. Brian Shiozawa, Senate President Wayne Niederhauser, Rep. Jim Dunnigan and Speaker Greg Hughes for agreeing to a Medicaid expansion concept which will extend coverage to everyone in the gap, including those who may be above 100 percent of the poverty line but still unable to afford health insurance. It is difficult to know how many lives will be saved, how many bankruptcies will be avoided and how many people will sleep better at night knowing their loved ones are protected.
I, and tens of thousands of others in the coverage gap, appreciate your efforts to ensure that we will be able to receive access to necessary medical care — even though we may earn less than our neighbors.
However, the work is not done, and the clock is still ticking. My degenerative neurological disorder is progressing each day I go without health care, and there are many more Utahns similarly struggling as we wait for a full plan to be implemented.
Stacy Stanford
Salt Lake City