PROGRAM: Jessica Kendrick from the Utah Health Policy Project spoke on the need for "quality, affordable, comprehensive health care coverage for all Utahns through research, policy innovation and civic participation."According to Kendrick, over 442,000 Utahns live without health insurance of any kind while a similar number are underinsured. Utah businesses are burdened by health care costs, and families can easily be financially devastated by illness or injury.
Sixty percent of the $2 trillion Americans will spend this year on health care will come from state and federal taxes, making the American taxpayer the world’s most generous in paying for health care programs.
These facts combine to make health care policy the most difficult and perplexing domestic issue in our state and nation. Optimal change in Utah’s health care system will occur only if the public is informed about basic health policy and economics.
According to Kendrick, the objectives of the Utah Health Policy Project are to develop and implement visionary and systematic solutions to Utah’s health care crisis; incrementally expanding access to affordable health coverage in ways which further systematic solutions. Continue to build community / small business support for comprehensive health system reforms designed around a concept of a Health Insurance Exchange.
Kendrick noted, we must also ensure sustainable and cost effective financing of state and federal resources such as Medicaid, CHIP, and other health programs and low-income clinics; and develop the statewide infrastructure and capacity to improve quality of care and reduce health disparities. For more information about the future of health care in Utah, call 801-433-2299.
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