As expected, state lawmakers Wednesday rejected a proposed constitutional amendment intended to provide access to affordable health care for all Utahns.

Salt Lake City Democratic Sen. Scott McCoy toned down his original proposal, which would have declared health care a right, and replaced it with a draft amendment requiring the state to "provide for the establishment and maintenance of a state system for the provision of affordable, medically necessary health care services or insurance."

"Proper health care is essential to the pursuit of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in the citizenry," McCoy said. "Some of us don't live quite as well as we should. But at least we should be coming to the conclusion that we need to create a system where people have access to affordable, medically necessary care, in spite of themselves."

McCoy said lawmakers could set aside $100 a month for low-income Utahns who can't afford insurance, create health care savings accounts or follow Massachusetts' lead with a universal health care plan.

A Salt Lake Tribune poll in January found that 67 percent of Utahns supported amending the Utah Constitution to declare affordable, accessible health care a basic right. Utahns would have had to vote to change the constitution.

Utah Anti-Hunger Action Committee Director Bill Tibbetts told committee members the cost of health care takes a toll on businesses and workers alike, with small companies closing their doors due to the expense of employee insurance programs and middle-class families declaring bankruptcy after a medical emergency.

"There are people who have suffered in ways that are preventable and actually died because they didn't have access to health care," Tibbetts said. "No one in Utah should die because they can't afford health care."

But Kelly Atkinson, Director of the Utah Health Insurance Association, argued that the amendment would put the state on the hook for a massive bill.

"Should that be the public policy of the state?" Atkinson asked. "Is health care a right? We don't think so."

Health care might be expensive, Atkinson said, but those uninsured Utahns who need treatment can get it in emergency rooms.

Some members of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee also balked at the prospect of providing health care for Utahns who don't take care of themselves - including smokers and the obese.

"By putting this in the constitution, you're really saying regardless of what you do, we're going to take care of you," said Sen. Peter Knudson, R-Brigham City. "There are many in our society who do nothing for themselves in terms of prevention."

Others worried about slipping into socialized medicine.

"It's a giant step in socialism," said Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan.

The bill failed in a vote along party lines.

Despite that defeat, low-income advocates still hope legislators will put some of the state's $1.6 billion surplus toward health care for poor Utahns. They offered a pumpkin pie to House Speaker Greg Curtis with just a sliver cut out - representative of funding for health care programs.

"If he and the governor can partner to save soccer, they can put away some money for health care," said Tibbetts.

walsh@sltrib.com

SJR4

Amended bill would require the state to maintain a system of "affordable, medically necessary" health care for all Utahns.

The bill would have established a right to health care for all under the Utah Constitution.