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Immigrant Children Health Care Amendments (ICHIA) in Utah: So Close, But Not This Year
Due to last minute confusion about available revenue sources, the children of legal immigrants will continue to wait five years until they are eligible for Utah's CHIP and Medicaid Programs. Members of the State House of Representatives voted down a budget amendment sponsored by Rep. Kory Holdaway to fund HB 171/SB 225, the Legal Immigrant Children Health Care Amendments, 42 to 33. HB 171 and its sister bill, SB 225, would have taken advantage of federal legislation, the Immigrant Children's Health Insurance Act (ICHIA), and opened up CHIP and Medicaid to income-qualified legal immigrant children. Rep. Holdaway's amendment would have accessed funds in the state's Tobacco Settlement Trust Fund to pay for the measure.
While few people imagined that the ICHIA bills would go as far as they did in our current budget environment, health care advocates managed to rally unexpected and overwhelming support. The bills passed both houses of the Legislature, and prior to the vote on Rep. Holdaway's motion, we had the votes to amend the budget in the House. Efforts were derailed by budget committee chair Rep. Ron Bigelow‟s surprise announcement that the state had already zeroed out the money in the Tobacco Settlement Trust Fund.
Please thank Sen. Robles and Rep. Holdaway for their exemplary leadership and persistence through this brilliant and nearly victorious campaign
Utah Medicaid frayed, but largely whole after 2009 Legislative Session
Thanks to the federal economic recovery package, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), policymakers agreed to meet the „maintenance of effort‟ requirements to restore all Medicaid eligibility cuts; in exchange, the ARRA will provide Utah with over $200 million. The Legislature decided to keep most of that money in the Medicaid program. Besides restorations to eligibility, the Legislature restored physician reimbursement rates, some of the cuts to non-physician providers and hospitals, and thanks to the tenacity and bold leadership of Sen. Pat Jones, restored outpatient physical therapy and occupational therapy. These restorations were accomplished using one-time money. Please express your gratitude to Sen. Jones for her fabulous work on the service restorations.
Be warned: Without a new appropriation next year, these cuts are scheduled to occur in July 2010
Health Bill Tracker for 2009 General Session
Source: Utah Health Policy Project http://www.healthpolicyproject.org/
Information submitted by: April Y. Bennett Center for Multicultural Health
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2009 utah legislative session |
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Page 3 |
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THE CONNECTION/april 2009 ISSUE#34 |
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CHECK OUR AGENDA OF EVENTS DURING MINORITY HEALTH MONTH |