As physicians, we are alarmed at the harm that will be done to the people of Utah if Medicaid cuts and work requirements happen. Roughly half of the 353,000 people that receive Medicaid or CHIP (the Children’s Health Insurance Program) are children. About one quarter of all births in Utah are covered by Medicaid. The majority of adults covered by Medicaid in Utah are already working. Over one third of covered adults have disabilities. The majority of Utah Medicaid recipients live in rural areas. Although in total the state of Utah spends $5.3 billion on Medicaid, $3.6 billion of those funds come from the federal government. (KFF)
We expect multiple negative outcomes if Medicaid changes are passed. Babies may be born without proper prenatal care, leading to a greater percentage of complicated births, resulting in an increased number of children and adults with lifelong health problems and disabilities. Adults may go without care for chronic disease, leading to increased morbidity and mortality. Rural hospitals, which rely heavily on Medicaid funding, may be forced to close, leaving people without emergency rooms and birthing centers. Vulnerable populations, children, seniors, people with disabilities and low income families would be impacted the most. Health care for everyone would become more expensive. Medical debt and bankruptcy will balloon. (Becker’s Hospital Review)
One provision of the proposed legislation is work requirements and their documentation for Medicaid. We have been there before with poor results. In Arkansas, when work requirements were put in place in 2018-2019, 18,000 people lost their enrollment. Documenting work was difficult, confusing and time-consuming, and, at times, an impossible task. Imagine sitting on hold for three hours only to be hung up on. This legislation resulted in worsening medical debt and delayed and missed care. A federal court later deemed the work requirement to be unlawful, and it was ended. (Arkansas work requirement.)
Please call our senators (John Curtis and Mike Lee) and your representative (use www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative if you are unsure) and let them know how you feel. An easy way to contact them is to use the App 5 calls (https://5calls.org/). Calls do matter. Help us save Medicaid in Utah. Federal cuts to Medicaid will hurt our state and all segments of our population.
Lynne Kerr, MD, PhD, and Lorraine Szczesny, MD, Doctors for America, Salt Lake City
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