This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
As an uninsured and chronically ill Salt Lake City resident, I'd like to thank the Salt Lake County Council for their bipartisan efforts to extend health care coverage to 111,000 poor, uninsured Utahns.
I'm a 29-year-old Westminster student and small business owner. After a car accident four years ago, I developed a progressive neurological disorder, and I also lost my job and health insurance. Unfortunately in Utah, adults without children do not qualify for Medicaid, so I'm left with no options for health care coverage.
Today, I listened as the County Council heard stories of the human cost of the failure to accept Governor Herbert's Healthy Utah plan. Behavioral health advocates detailed the impending cuts that will eliminate essential funding for mental health and addiction recovery services beginning Jan. 1, 2015. More than 3,200 people in Salt Lake County will lose access to crucial services unless a plan is implemented in time.
The council, five Republicans and four Democrats, voted unanimously in a bipartisan motion to deliver a letter to legislative leadership urging them to support the governor's plan in a special session this year. I sat in amazement and gratitude as the council put aside partisan politics to look at the facts and vote in support of their neediest citizens.
Stacy Davis-Stanford
Salt Lake City