A few reporters and editors were quick to broadcast their assumption that this decision was driven by political contributions. That assumption is wrong.

In 2001 the state of Maine implemented a PDL policy - one of the first in the nation. Six months ago it issued a report that scrutinized its system and found what it characterized as "disturbing trends."

According to the report:

* Emergency room visits have increased.

* Hospital admissions and patient referrals to specialists have increased.

* Many patients experience a worsening of their medical condition as they jump through the hoops to get medications not on the PDL.

* Many patients are forced to go to the doctor multiple times to get the right medicine.

* Medical staff time and attention is diverted from patient care to handle "voluminous paperwork" and increased calls from patients.

* Doctors are cutting off or limiting the number of Medicaid patients they accept due to the increased administrative burden.

* Quality of care has decreased and patients have suffered painful consequences.

They reported, "while [a PDL] is an important cost containment tool, aspects of its implementation have adverse consequences directly affecting the health care of thousands." Other PDL states are also experiencing serious problems.

I found these concerns to be compelling.

I would like nothing better than to save money in our Medicaid program. Perhaps we can revisit the issue when the bugs are worked out of the PDL system. The bottom line for me, however, is that I am unwilling to conduct medical experiments on our most vulnerable citizens.

Maine is currently investigating the administrative problems caused by its PDL program. At some point in the future it plans to try to quantify the human damage caused by the program to determine if the money they saved was worth the cost.

I am unwilling to plunge Utah into a similar experiment.

Seven legislators on the Executive Appropriations Committee voted for a Utah PDL; nine voted against it. Each was lobbied fiercely by all sides of the issue. Each has their own reasons for the judgment call they had to make.

They are all good legislators. They did their job. You will find your representatives to be far more informed, far more sincere and more compassionate than the two-dimensional caricatures portrayed by recent media accounts.

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Sen. John Valentine is president of the Utah Senate.