Utah Medicaid Expansion is now Open!

Utah Medicaid Expansion now open


Although it's not Prop 3 as Utah voters passed in November 2018, it's something. It's a start.




Also here is the Spanish Version for medicaid Expansion in Utah.


This is the first Waiver approved by CMS for Utah in regards to skinny medicaid expansion. OR the Bridge Plan as Utah Advocates have "dubbed" it.

70,000 Utahns now have access to medicaid.


In other news Attorney General Sean Reyes is still involved in dismantling the ACA. Which would wipe pre existing condition protections to 293,000 UTAHNS. This is unacceptable behavior from our Attorney General. Please write a letter to him do drop off the frivolous lawsuit.

Letter to Utah Governor Herbert urging a on Veto Nuclear waste amendments

Our Utah State Democratic Healthcare Caucus wrote a letter to Governor Gary Herbert.   I Ryan Scott Jensen Chair the Healthcare Caucus. Our letter is as follows:

Dear Governor Herbert

We represent the Utah Democratic Health Care Caucus. While our caucus was formed under the umbrella of the Utah Democratic Party our membership includes conservative and unaffiliated voters who have a concern about health matters that effect Utahns and the nation. We have approximately 575 members who follow our Facebook page and caucus meetings.

We urgently request that you veto H.B. 220 Radioactive Waste Amendments. 

In 2005 Utah banned the importation of class B and class C wastes and in 2010, out of concern for safety, you suspended shipments to the state. 

What has changed the equation? In 2005 we had 2.5 million residents. By 2020 we will likely have 3.5 million. Is it the $150,000 in political contributions in 2018 that Energy Solutions made to Utah officeholders?

The International Nuclear Workers (INWORKS) studied deaths due to leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma in French, British and American nuclear workers who were exposed to ionizing radiation at work. There was significant evidence of a positive association between ionizing radiation exposure and death from leukemia among more than 300,000 nuclear workers.

Leukemia is generally treated with a bone marrow transplant. The average cost of an allogeneic bone marrow transplant in the United States is around $800,000, while an autologous transplant will cost around $350,000. These patients, if they survive, are still left with challenging side effects from the treatment. 

In a Deseret News article in October 2018, Don Verbica, with the radiation control division, said he didn't believe previous assessments done at the Clive facility addressed the risks posed by depleted uranium metal. He was quoted, “They have to demonstrate that (disposal of the material) will not result in an undue hazard to public health, safety and the environment.” Verbica added that depleted uranium metal is chemically unstable, relatively mobile and pyrophoric, or able to ignite spontaneously. The staff's presentation showed a corroded depleted uranium munition after three years to underscore what they assert is the specific unsafe nature of the radioactive material.

In addition, geologist Stephen T. Nelson and climatologist Summer B. Rupper, both of Brigham Young University, and Kansas State University geologist Charles G. Oviatt, say it is "absurd" for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to deem depleted uranium safe for surface disposal. All three scientists are experts in the geological history of Lake Bonneville, that has periodically covered parts of three states in the past 30,000 years.

“The uranium enrichment waste gets increasingly hazardous for a million years, and that's too long to reasonably ensure the safety of any shallow landfills, especially one like the Tooele County site that is underwater a few hundred of every several thousand years. Those wet cycles could spread long-lived radioactive material throughout the Great Salt Lake basin, the scientists say.” (The Salt Lake Tribune Nov. 7, 2009)

Please do the right thing for current and future residents of our state and veto this bill.

Utah Democratic Health Care Caucus Board

Chairman Ryan Jensen, small business owner

Secretary Karina Andelin Brown, BS, MS (former legislative candidate)

Whitney Duhaime, small business owner

June H. Taylor, PhD, retired

Christine Helfrich, BS, CCRP, retired

Joni Bycroft, BS, MS, retired

Joe Bycroft, IBEW president, retired

Utah Medicaid Expansion work requirements

Allen Christensen a representative from North Ogden Utah is officially the "grinch who is trying to steal healthcare aware from Utahns".   He is suggesting bringing back Work Requirements that don't work and Arkansas is recent proof of that. Christensen is also trying to add annual and lifetime caps, and although the language and exacts haven't been shown to the Utah public yet it is safe to assume it will be similar to Robert Spendlove's "Sandy Utah Representatives" hack bill of Medicaid expansion.

Allen Christensen Medicaid Expansion Grinch

A couple Key issues:

-Work requirements serve as only a barrier to accessing healthcare. You also have to wait on the federal governments approval via CMS which could take a long time to approve, which could cause major delays in coverage and implementing medicaid services. -PATIENTS LOSE!

- Annual caps is a fancy term for block grants for people on medicaid. -Don't have anything catastrophic happen or you'll be capped.

-Lifetime limits. Robert Spendloves bill in the Utah Legislative session during 2018 capped these benefits after 60 months. LIFETIME, meaning once you use 60 months of medicaid during your lifetime you are done with the program for life.

- Allen Christensen's bill will make you sign up for medicaid through the SSN and unemployment office. If you have ever applied for SSN benefits or unemployment in Utah then you would know that 99% get denied automatically on their first request here. Not to mention this type of behavior creates waiting lists and valuable missed coverage time for individuals needing healthcare.

-Removing retro active eligibility- meaning during the wait period you can't back track coverage or get it paid for.


Again this is going off early talks of what Allen Christensen wants through a news media outlet.  He won't show the full language of the bill due to public backlash. Keep in mind last years behavior with Robert Spendloves bill out Sandy Utah during the Utah Legislative session to get an idea, they will be hacking up prop 3 which passed recently with over 50% in Utah.

They will take the axe to the proposition 3 like they are going to do to proposition 4 in the near future and already have with proposition 2 and medical marijuana.

We have to hold these legislators accountable! Allen Christensen is the grinch stealing medicaid and healthcare access. Robert Spendlove has passed the torch to his buddy who isn't seeking re election after this and it's hard to believe that this isn't the reason. His legacy will be creating barriers, restricting medicaid expansion and healthcare should he continue pushing this bill.

Give Allen Christensen and email and tell him not add work requirements, block grants and caps to prop there or medicaid expansion achristensen@le.utah.gov

Ryan Scott Jensen
Chair of the Democratic Health Care Caucus
Healthcare Advocate
Coach
Concerned Citizen