Just four years ago, Utahns voted to adopt Medicaid expansion with the state paying just a tenth of the costs as the federal government covers the rest, but a new bill is moving forward that could cut services should there be a shortfall.
This bill took up an hour-and-a-half of discussion Thursday, with the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Brady Brammer (R-Pleasant Grove), describing it as a planning ahead “doomsday scenario bill;” however, those in opposition say it will hurt those who need it most.
“If the state of Utah’s legislature cannot fund something I consider essential services for citizens of the state of Utah, then there’s a problem,” said patient Jahn Curran.
Approximately 120,000 adults in Utah are eligible for medicaid expansion, according to an estimate from the state’s Department of Health and Human Services. Some of those services could now get cut under the proposed bill.
“This is not meant to cut Medicaid when there are not problems. It does not do that,” promised Brammer.
The cuts would only happen if there’s a Medicaid shortfall, which Brammer explained before fellow lawmakers, saying the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) would be a drop of more than two percent in one year and four percent in three years.