Two-thirds of Utahns want the GOP-controlled Legislature to adopt Medicaid expansion, the health insurance program for the poor that lawmakers continuously opposed during Democratic President Barack Obama’s time.
Now that Republican Donald Trump is in the White House, however, and has talked about allowing a work requirement for beneficiaries, the conservative Utah lawmakers seem to have come around.
UtahPolicy.com pollster Dan Jones & Associates finds in a new survey that 68 percent of Utahns support Medicaid expansion here, as long as there are work requirements, a cap on how much state taxpayers may spend on the program, and the federal government pays 90 percent and the state 10 percent.
A fourth (25 percent) still oppose Medicaid expansion for the poor and low income.
And 7 percent don’t know.
Rep. Robert Spendlove, R-Sandy, will carry the expansion bill. But as of Friday he had still not introduced it. He tells UtahPolicy.com the text of the bill will be public no later than Tuesday morning.
There are only nine days left in the 2018 Legislature.
But since Republicans in the House and Senate – along with GOP Gov. Gary Herbert – support the expansion plan, there shouldn’t be much trouble in racing it through public hearings and floor votes in the final days.
While Utahns in general are a generous people – at the top of the states in giving volunteer time and money to charities – the GOP Legislature has been Scrooge-like when it comes to Medicaid programs for the poor.
Herbert developed his Healthy Utah Medicaid expansion plan several years ago – aimed at curtailing state costs while providing coverage to more than 100,000 low-income folks, many of them women and children.
The Senate approved Healthy Utah.
But House Republicans, led by Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, refuse to go along.
After many starts and stops, House Republicans, led by Rep. Jim Dunnigan, R-Taylorsville, came up with a small expansion plan – which ultimately only covered a few thousands of the poorest and needy.
Spendlove’s plan will cover tens of thousands of Utahns up to 100 percent of the federal poverty level.
Plus it will allow slightly better-off low-income Utahns to be covered by other low-cost health care plans, Herbert told his recent KUED 7 news conference.
Jones finds in his new survey that even Utah Republicans favor Medicaid expansion now:
- The GOP rank-and-file favor expansion, 56-33 percent.
- Democrats, who have always cared more for the poor than have GOP lawmakers, favor the new plan, 86-13 percent.
- Political independents favor Medicaid expansion, 75-18 percent.
There is only one demographic group that falls below 50 percent support – those who self-identified to Jones that they are “very conservative” politically:
- They are 49-41 percent in favor of the new, more generous GOP Medicaid expansion.
- Those who told Jones they are “somewhat” conservative are at 68-23 percent favorable.
- “Moderates” are at 71-23 percent favorable
- The “somewhat liberals” are at 84-13 percent.
- While the “very liberals” are at 86-12 percent.
Mormons, historically, have had various kinds of church internal programs to help the needy among them.
And Jones finds the “very active” Mormons also support a state government Medicaid expansion, 65-26 percent.
The Utah Legislature is both heavily Republican, and heavily Mormon.
Jones finds that all other religious groups support the expansion by large majorities.
And those who told the pollster they have no religion support expansion, 79-16 percent.
Jones polled 609 adults from Feb. 9-16. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.
