MEDICAID - The Salt Lake Tribune

Utah kids get a second chance at free autism therapy

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:03:56 MDT

Utah kids get a second chance at free autism therapy

By kirsten stewart The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated Jun 18, 2013 05:03PM MDT

Children who lost out in the first lottery have a second chance at free autism treatment, or applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy, paid for by a pilot program under Medicaid. The Utah Department of Health has openings for 35 children and is taking applications through July 12. The slots will be assigned to different regions of the state based on population and filled via a lottery, not on a first-come, first-served basis. The pilot is one of three testing the benefits of ABA; advocates hope ...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Keep Medicaid

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 01:01:03 MDT

Keep Medicaid

Updated Jun 18, 2013 01:01AM MDT

In “The spite club” (Opinion, June 8), Paul Krugman opines that it is wrong for states to refuse to expand Medicaid coverage to provide “health coverage to very-low-income Americans, at a cost private insurers can’t match.” If you missed it, read his article, because Utah is on the cusp of rejecting Medicaid expansion. See this less as a political issue and more as a humanitarian issue. Our society helps those less fortunate, and a majority of Utahns agree. Even Utah’s majority religion agrees ...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Coverage for all

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 01:01:05 MDT

Coverage for all

Updated Jun 12, 2013 01:01AM MDT

In 2002 — before anyone had ever heard of Barack Obama, much less of Obamacare — Utah launched its own plan to provide medical insurance to people who were too well-off for Medicaid but not financially within reach of any other health care plan. The Primary Care Network was launched under the leadership of then-Gov. Mike Leavitt, who knows a thing or two about health insurance, having come from the insurance business and later moving on to be, among other things, head of the federal Department ...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Krugman: The spite club

Sat, 08 Jun 2013 01:01:08 MDT

Krugman: The spite club

By PAUL KRUGMAN The New York Times

Updated Jun 8, 2013 01:01AM MDT

House Republicans have voted 37 times to repeal ObamaRomneyCare — the Affordable Care Act, which creates a national health insurance system similar to the one Massachusetts has had since 2006. Nonetheless, almost all of the act will go fully into effect at the beginning of next year. There is, however, one form of obstruction still available to the GOP. Last year’s Supreme Court decision upholding the law’s constitutionality also gave states the right to opt out of one piece of the plan, a feder...

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Utah mom: ‘I would have died’ without PCN, state‘s low-income health coverage

Sat, 08 Jun 2013 01:01:04 MDT

Utah mom: ‘I would have died’ without PCN, state‘s low-income health coverage

By Jennifer Dobner The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated Jun 8, 2013 01:01AM MDT

Thirty-six hours. Without her daily insulin shots, that’s about how long Jennifer Ericksen has before she could become unconscious and possibly die. Once, while uninsured, she tried to ration her insulin. A friend found her passed out on a sofa and called for emergency help. For the past three years, Ericksen’s doctor visits, insulin and other drugs have been covered through Utah’s Primary Care Network (PCN), which provides limited preventive health coverage to low-income adults and families wh...

Briefs from Tribune news services

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 22:41:10 MDT

Briefs from Tribune news services

Updated Jun 7, 2013 10:41PM MDT

Tough decision for anti-abortion guv Des Moines, Iowa • Catholic, anti-abortion Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad could soon find himself in an uncomfortable position: He may have to sign off on payments for every Medicaid-funded abortion in his state. A bill requiring that authorization is sitting on the Republican’s desk after moving through the statehouse. If Branstad signs it, Iowa is likely to be the only state that would have the unique requirement. Iowa’s Medicaid program covers a small number of...