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Public health coverage programs are the foundation for affordable health care coverage for low-income Utahns. These programs must be strengthened in order for health reform to succeed.
Utah has four different public health insurance programs for low-income people: Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Primary Care Network (PCN), and the Utah Premium Partnership (UPP), a premium assistance program. Due to Utah’s slowing economy most of these programs have seen a rapid and substantial increase in enrollment. This trend upward has two important ramifications. First, with increased enrollment come increased costs. Second, more eligible Utahns are receiving the health coverage they need. In addition to the challenges caused by increased enrollment and decreasing state revenue, these programs are evolving rapidly to meet critical goals of health system reform efforts both nationally and locally.
In order to tackle these challenges and make the most of new opportunities created by reform, UHPP is committed to:
• Developing and strengthening proven cost containment initiatives and re-directing all savings into improved access to care and medically necessary services;
• Remove barriers to enrollment by eliminating the Medicaid Asset Test and removing the 5-year waiting period that legal permanent resident children and pregnant women must wait before enrolling in Medicaid, CHIP or UPP.
• Ensuring the benefits offered by public programs provide coverage for all medically necessary services, including comprehensive primary care and a medical home, dental, vision, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and audiology.
• Streamlining eligibility processes and improving outreach to vulnerable, hard-to-reach communities;
• Making sure the positive components of health system reforms (e.g. aligning payment incentives with evidence-based medicine) are applied to Medicaid and CHIP;
• Co-host the Community, Department of Health, and Department of Workforce Services Monthly Meeting;
• Hosting Utah Medicaid Partnership, a multi-stakeholder problem solving process and Monthly Meeting, a regular community dialogue with department officials.
Medicaid and CHIP Enrollment Data
For a list of Fact Sheets and Papers on Medicaid & CHIP click here. |
