SALT LAKE CITY — It's a story that is shared among more than 350,000 Utahns.
The beginning and endings may differ, but the plot in the middle is the same.
“With my first daughter Abrielle, by the time she passed away, I think it was something like $310,000 in medical bills,” said former Medicaid patient Angela Turner. “I wasn’t even done with my medical bills. I had other medical issues on top of that.”
Turner's first child was born pre-mature, as well as two of her other daughters, who now live with epilepsy.
Thanks to Medicaid, Turner and her family were able to avoid a fate that would’ve made it difficult to financially recover.
“We would’ve definitely had to probably go through bankruptcy,” said Turner. “I’m 100% sure. I don’t know how we could’ve ever started a family and paid for all of that early on.”
But the threat of cuts to Medicaid at the state and federal level has many patients on edge in Utah, including many patients with disabilities.
“There’s so many conversations at the federal level; we don’t have all the specifics yet,” said Nate Crippes, an attorney with the Disability Law Center. “For example, the work requirement they’re saying is directed at able-bodied adults, but we know that 60% of those on Medicaid expansion are people with mental illness or substance use disorder. There’s no world in which we’re not going to impact people with disabilities, where we’re putting a work requirement on them. If they have to jump through these hoops to get on Medicaid, ultimately, it’s going to kick people off of it.”
According to Protect Medicaid Utah, a coalition of health care advocates and consumers, Medicaid cuts would threaten 7,000 jobs across the state and recipients must complete at least 48 job applications to access treatments.
Utah would lose $500 million in federal funding every year.
The rate of those uninsured would increase, leaving hospitals with millions in uncompensated care, creating a ripple effect for other consumers left with a higher price tag for their healthcare.
For now, Protect Medicaid Utah says the fight must be taken to the state and United States’ capitals.
“If you want to support the disability community, don’t cut Medicaid,” said Crippes. “Medicaid is one of, if not the most important program to Utahns with disabilities, and cutting something like that, making it harder for them to access, it is going to have a devastating impact on families and on individuals.”
That's an impact this former Medicaid patient hopes no one has to face.
“I think there’s a lot of young parents out there that are also going to need help in the future,” said Turner. “I worry about the younger generations and getting that little bit of help while they’re trying to get into their careers for the rest of their lives.”
If you want to know how you can help champion continued Medicaid coverage for everyone in Utah, visit Protect Medicaid Utah’s newly launched site here. They also have a guide on how to sign up for Medicaid.
