This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
After three years of disappointment and dashed hopes, people in Utah's coverage gap deserve better than to watch the new Utah Access Plus plan die behind closed doors in the Republican House caucus.
Some 63,000 Utahns have waited patiently while going without access to basic health care, treatment for mental-health conditions or substance-use disorders and necessary interventions for chronic diseases. We have written our legislators, called the governor's office and testified at public hearings because we believed, against past evidence, that Utah's leaders would do the right thing in the face of this life-or-death decision.
If the Utah House decides, again, to disregard the health and safety of constituents, then the representatives should be held accountable. The lives of 102 to 316 Utahns who will die every year due to lack of Medicaid expansion are worth more than a secret straw poll. Utah Access Plus deserves its moment on the floor. If you agree, contact your legislators.
Stacy Stanford
Salt Lake City