UHPP's Health Matters: July 2014

The Beginning of the End

On Thursday morning at 9am the Utah legislature’s Health Reform Task Force will meet for the tenth time to discuss options for closing Utah’s coverage gap.

But this meeting will be different.

The agenda for Thursday’s meeting is packed with perspectives from people who understand Utah’s coverage gap—the tens of thousands of Utahns who earn too little to purchase subsidized private insurance, but earn too much to receive Medicaid.

Here’s a sample of the Task Force agenda:

Paul Gibbs, the local filmmaker who created “Entitled To Life”, will preview a seven-minute version of his powerful; documentary to Utah legislators. We expect many of the Utahns profiled in the film and others living in the coverage gap to be in the audience.

The task force will hear testimony on the coverage gap from three important perspectives: Dr. Vivian Lee (CEO of Univ. of Utah Heath Systems); Bishop David Heslington (LDS 12th Ward, Salt Lake City); and Melanie Soule (Utah mother and businesswoman who lacks insurance).

Dr. Norm Waitzman from the University of Utah will release a new demographic report that sheds light on lives of tens of thousands of Utahns who could receive new coverage under both a traditional Medicaid expansion and the Governor’s Healthy Utah plan.

Staff from the Utah Dept. of Health will update legislators on the ongoing federal negotiations over the Healthy Utah plan. Federal sign-off is necessary before the governor can call a special session of the Utah legislature this fall.

After two years of alternating progress and retreats, Utah’s debate over closing the coverage gap is marching towards a positive conclusion this fall. And this week’s task force meeting will be one of the most important events in this struggle. Please attend the task force meeting to show your respect for Utah trailblazers like Paul Gibbs, Melanie Soules, Stacy Stanford, and Rick Gelino. We know that a vast majority of Utah voters support for closing Utah’s coverage gap. Now we just need our legislators to recognize that they—and a realistic solution—exist.

On Thursday morning you can follow UHPP’s coverage on the #hsrt meeting on Twitter.

Join us at https://twitter.com/UHPP or @UHPP

Please note: All Health Reform Task Force meetings are open to the public and deserve the respect and decorum of a serious business meeting.

Attend the meeting:

Health Reform Task Force

Utah Legislature

Thursday, July 17, 2014

9am to 12pm

Room 30 House Building

Agenda: http://le.utah.gov/Interim/2014/html/00003692.htm
Map: https://utahstatecapitol.utah.gov/images/About/capitolmaps.pdf

Get more involved:

Utah Communities for Healthcare Coverage is a new coalition of healthcare advocates, organizations, and community members working to close Utah’s coverage gap.

Do one of these today!

Sign our petition to support the Healthy Utah Plan

Join our mailing list to stay informed

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Calendar (July 2014)

Legislative Meetings

>>Thursday, July 17, 2014

Health Reform Task Force

Location: Utah State Capitol; Room #30 House Building (map)

Time: 9am-12pm

Agenda (html (pdf)

Agenda highlights:

>>7-minute clip of “Entitled To Life”, the documentary by Paul Gibbs

>>Public testimony on the coverage gap from Dr. Vivian Lee (CEO of Univ. of Utah Heath Systems); Bishop David Heslington (LDS 12th Ward, Salt Lake City); and Melanie Soule (Utah mother and business owner who lacks insurance).

>>Discussion of coverage gap demographic report by Dr. Norm Waitzman from the University of

Update by Utah Dept. of Health on federal/state negotiations over the Healthy Utah plan

>>Thursday, August 28, 2014

Health Reform Task Force

Location: Utah State Capitol; Room #30 House Building (map)

Time: 9am-12pm

Agenda (html (pdf)

Health Care Roundtable

>>A bi-weekly (1^st and 3^rd Wednesdays) gathering of advocates, stakeholders, and others interested in health policy and legislation in Utah, especially Medicaid Expansion

TODAY >>Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Organization: Health Care Roundtable

Location: Utah State Capitol - Senate Office Bldg. - Olmsted Room (map)

Time: 1:15pm-2:15pm

Contact: RyLee Curtis, rylee-at-healthpolicyproject.org

>>Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Organization: Health Care Roundtable

Location: Utah Cancer Society (941 E 3300 S, SLC UT 84106) (map)

Time: 1:15pm-2:15pm

Contact: RyLee Curtis, rylee-at-healthpolicyproject.org

Grassroots Outreach and Canvassing

Closing the Coverage Gap Campaign Events

Utah Communities for Healthcare Coverage

Get involved here

>>Thursday, July 17, 2014

The Haven

Location: 974 East South Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah 84102,

>>Friday, July 25, 2014

Sugarhouse Farmers Market (web)

Location: Sugarmont Plaza (Heart of Sugarhouse)

>>Tuesday, July 29^,2014

Partners in the Park

Location: Northwest Multi-purpose Center (1300 West 300 North, SLC, UT)

>>Friday, August 8, 2 014

Sugarhouse Farmers Market (web)

Location: Sugarmont Plaza (Heart of Sugarhouse)

Enrollment Events

See the full calendar at the updated Take Care Utah website

ACA Timeline

August-September 2014

Utah insurance companies set rates for 2015 insurance policies offered on healthcare.gov

October 2014

Utah Dept. of Insurance announces rates on healthcare.gov marketplace and Avenue H.

November 15, 2014

Open enrollment begins on Healthcare.gov for 2015 insurance plans

Upcoming Health Reform 101 Presentations

In 2013-14 UHPP has made over 130 educational presentations about health reform to more than 6,000 people. To schedule a presentation for your group or organization, email Jason Stevenson at stevenson@healthpolicyproject.org, or call 801-433-2299 x7

Wednesday, July 23 2014

Organization: Porter Family Clinic

Time: 12:45pm – 1:45pm

Location: 4403 Harrison Blvd, Suite A-700, Ogden, UT 84403

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Organization: Utah Case Managers Association (WCF)

Time: 11:40am – 1:10pm

Location: 100 West Towne Ridge Parkway, Sandy, Utah 84070 (map)

Utah Voters Speak

How a single poll changed the conversation about closing Utah’s coverage gap.

Can one poll shift a statewide conversation?

Well, this one did.

On June 17^th, a group of civic organizations revealed the results of a statewide poll comparing different strategies to close Utah’s coverage gap. The survey of 623 registered voters showed that Utahns of all demographic groups and political perspectives favor Governor Gary Herbert’s Healthy Utah Plan by wide margins.

When compared with the option of doing nothing, 88% of Utah voters preferred the Healthy Utah Plan, and 70% preferred Healthy Utah compared to a full Medicaid expansion. A few critics complained that respondents weren’t asked to compare Healthy Utah to a state-funded partial expansion plan like the one proposed during the 2014 legislative session. But because that plan received only 11% support in a similar April 2014 survey (even less than the "do nothing" option), the survey designers declined to include it as a viable alternative.

Announced by Gov. Herbert in February, the Healthy Utah plan would extend the offer of private health insurance to Utahns caught in the coverage gap. These are adults who earn too little to buy subsidized insurance on healthcare.gov, but earn too much to receive Medicaid. His plan would allocate federal funds targeted towards Medicaid expansion and return them to the state to assist in the purchase of private health insurance.

Why did this poll generate 11 media articles (see below), elicit a negative review on a blogger website, and shake up the status quo?

Because this poll showed that a substantial majority of Utah voters (including 84% of self-described “very conservatives”) want our state’s political leaders to fix the coverage gap. It demonstrated that a majority of Utahns support elements within Healthy Utah that promote state flexibility, require co-pays, and leverage private insurance. And it proved that voters in Utah are willing to use federal funds to subsidize the cost of private insurance for their neighbors who can’t afford it. But most importantly, it squashed the echo-chamber hearsay and anecdotes that some politicians are using to justify their inaction on closing Utah’s coverage gap.

The poll of 623 Utah voters was conducted via phone interviews and online surveys by Dan Jones & Associates in May and June of 2014. Analysis of the poll was completed by private researchers at Provo-based Notalys, LLC.

Here are key highlights from the poll:

· 88% of voters prefer Healthy Utah over the status quo of doing nothing

· 83% believe “all legal Utah residents should have access to affordable health insurance

· 71% of the respondents agreed that the state should accept federal assistance in health care

· 70% of voters prefer Healthy Utah over

· Medicaid expansion. 54% of voters indicate they would be more likely to vote for legislators who support the Healthy Utah Plan.