Insuring more Utah children through Medicaid

As part of the plan to cover all Americans, the health reform law of 2010 proposed an expansion of the Medicaid program, which helps low-income families gain access to care. Some state governors have declared they intend to fight the Medicaid expansion, for budgetary or principled reasons. The governor of Utah’s reasons are slightly different.

Recently, he’s argued making more people eligible for Medicaid is not a big problem. But getting Medicaid to all the people in Utah who already are eligible is. One-fourth of children eligible for Medicaid and other health programs are not enrolled, according to an op-ed today by our member organization Voices for Utah Children. Overall, Utah is third-worst in the nation at enrolling children in the health programs they’re eligible for.

The reason is that parents don’t know about their children’s eligibility or can’t navigate the bureaucratic maze to take advantage. But the health reform law can change this. Learn more in the op-ed from Lincoln Nehring, senior health policy analyst at Voices of Utah Children.