- The Protect Medicaid Utah coalition was formed in response to potential Medicaid cuts.
- The coalition aims to show lawmakers public support for Medicaid and convince them to keep the program how it is.
- Proponents say Medicaid provides services to over 352,000 Utahns, including 18% of all Utah children.
Amid the possibility of federal Medicaid cuts looming, as well as changes being made on the state level, a collection of advocacy groups, other organizations and some individuals have come together to form the Protect Medicaid Utah coalition.
The coalition includes a variety of different groups, including the Disability Law Center, Voices for Utah’s Children, Utah Health Policy Project, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, United Way of Salt Lake and United Today Stronger Tomorrow.
“We need the public to make it clear how much they support the Medicaid program, because we know the support is out there,” said Stacy Stanford with American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. “We need our elected officials to see it and to know that there’s consequences if you take health care away from people, people die, people get sicker, people lose their jobs, they lose opportunity.”
During Tuesday’s event, supporters gathered behind the speakers holding signs sharing what Medicaid means to them. These signs said things like “essential care,” “LIFE” and “family stability.”
Why are there concerns over Medicaid?
“When it was created, Medicaid’s purpose, in part, was to allow states to assist low income people with disabilities and help them gain or maintain the ability to care for themselves and with dignity,” said Nate Crippes with Disability Law Center.
At the state level, a proposal has been introduced to implement work reporting requirements for people enrolling in Medicaid. The proposal came from leadership within Utah’s Department for Health and Human Services.
These work reporting requirements would require recipients to show that they are working a certain number of hours as well as meeting a number of other requirements, which would cause a significant increase in the paperwork needed to enroll, coalition leaders said.
So far, no legislation has been introduced on the federal level dealing with Medicaid, Stanford said. “There’s a lot in motion, but there is a lot of looming threats, kind of being discussed on the table right now.”
Stanford also said Congress has been directed to find ways to save money and one of these is by making cuts to Medicaid. According to Stanford, Congress could cut around $880 billion from Medicaid if it follows current budget proposals.
“There’s no way to meet their goals without hurting patients and beneficiaries. So we’re just seeing it coming at us from state, federal, you know, all levels, the enrollees are feeling that threat, and they’re feeling, you know, anxious about that,” Stanford added.
Medicaid programs are jointly funded by both the state and federal government. Currently, 73% of Utah’s Medicaid funding comes from a federal level with the other 27% coming from the state.
What is Protect Medicaid Utah doing about it?
The coalition is currently focused on building public awareness on the potential Medicaid cuts as well as garnering public support.
Stanford said there is a limited period of time to give the state public input on the Medicaid proposal. Protect Medicaid Utah is working to encourage people to submit public comments in support of Medicaid. Information on how to do that can be found at protectmedicaidutah.org.
Crippes shared that reaching out to Utah’s members of Congress is a big piece of what people can do to help. He said it is important to show public support for Medicaid to help convince Congress to not make cuts to the program.
“The people who make decisions, the people in power, need to hear from the people who are impacted by those decisions, and there’s lots of different ways you can use your voice,” Stanford said.
Crippes and Stanford said people can help by sharing their own personal Medicaid stories, speaking out in support of others impacted, signing petitions and sharing on social media among other ways.
Why is Medicaid important?
“Medicaid provides the essential health care and supports so that people with disabilities can live independently, including personal care aides, transportation to appointments, home and community based services and therapies,” said Crippes.
Other speakers shared personal experiences with Medicaid. Angela Turner shared how Medicaid helped her family when her two daughters were born preterm with medical issues, and how her daughter with epilepsy was able to get a personal aide at school and how the program has helped her foster kids with special needs.
“I urge our lawmakers to understand the human cost of these proposed cuts to Medicaid. These are not just numbers on a page. They are the health and well-being of our children, seniors, our neighbors with disabilities and our elderly and countless of hard working Utah families, the future of countless Utah families hangs in the balance right now with the proposed cuts to Medicaid,” Turner said.
Stanford said before Medicaid expansion she wasn‘t able to enroll in the program after experiencing multiple medical issues related to a car accident. She said the potential cuts to Medicaid and the work reporting requirements would cause the same issues for others.
According to the Protect Medicaid Utah website, over 352,000 Utahns are provided services through Medicaid. This includes 18% of all children in Utah, 4 out of every 7 nursing home residents and 1 in 7 rural Utahns.