Governor Announces Decision To Make A Decision On Medicaid Expansion

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Courtesy: Wikipedia

Governor Announces Decision To Make A Decision On Medicaid Expansion

Courtesy: Wikipedia
Courtesy: Wikipedia

“It has become clear to my and my colleagues here on the left and on the right that we are not going to be able to find a solution that is satisfactory to everyone during this session,” Governor Gary Herbert stated in the beginning of a press conference today on the issue of Medicaid expansion.

Calling this “a heavy lift session,” the Governor said that there had been a lot to cover, but that the biggest issue that did not reach a conclusion was the medicaid debate.

It was was announced that a new task force has been formed with the resolution to find an answer to the Medicaid expansion issue by July 31st.

The task force will consist of Governor Gary Hebert, Lt. Governor Spencer Cox, Senate President Wayne Niederhauser, House Speaker Rep. Greg Hughe, and Healthy Utah bill sponsor Sen. Brian Shiozowa, as well as “Utah Cares” sponsor Rep. Jim Dunnigan.

Governor Herbert said that the nature of the legislative session lent itself to “hunkering down and having a bunker mentality,” and that a compromise could not be reached during the session.

“We don’t think all of the conversation has been had,” said Hughes.

Governor Herbert said that in a Republican state it would be easy to simply do nothing and blame this on the supreme court and others, but that was not that conclusion reached, though he did repeatedly say that this was not a problem created in Utah, but rather a shortcoming of the affordable care act and the decision of the supreme court.

“This is not an issue for a lot of reasons. We haven’t created the problem, we’re going to solve the problem, and we’re gonna do it the Utah way,” Herbert stated.

The original supreme court decision put the decision on Medicaid expansion in the hands of governors. Herbert delayed a decision in 2012-13 and in the 2013 general legislative session legislators passed a resolution requiring that the they be included in the decision making process.

Throughout the conference, “sustainability” and “predictability’ were buzz words repeated several times in reference to requirements expected from the plan the committee will ultimately decide on.

“We’ve got to get it right. We can’t make promises to our constituents that we’re not compared to keep.” Greg Hughes

Governor Herbert said that great progress has been made with the federal government, and that Utah has received promises that no one else has been given.

“The President said to me personally “if you’ve got a better way to do it, I want to hear about it,” the Governor said. “We are here to do the work of the people, and to find a solution to this difficult issue, and we will by the summer.”

The Governor emphasized that progress was being made.

“We’re not starting at the 50 yard line, we’re not starting at the goal line,” he said, “We’re within sight of scoring.”

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