About two-thirds of Utahns think government should help poor people who can't afford health insurance to find coverage, but they also think those recipients should contribute to the cost and that they should be either working or looking for work to receive benefits.
One of the most controversial elements in Gov. Gary Herbert's Healthy Utah alternative to Medicaid expansion is a requirement that able-bodied recipients either have a job or be looking for work. That has since changed into a program to provide training and job assistance for recipients. However, most Utahns agree that there should be some sort of work requirement in the program.
The latest UtahPolicy.com poll, conducted by Dan Jones and associates, finds 60% of Utahns agree that government should assist those who cannot afford health insurance. However, 87% think those who receive benefits from the government should be required to have a job or be looking for work. 85% agree that receipients should contribute to the cost of insurance by paying for part of premiums or copays. Just 50% think government should assist low-income Utahns purchase private health insurance.
The same survey finds 59% of Utahns get their current health coverage through an employer-sponsored insurance plan, while 16% say they use Medicare or Medicaid. Only 3% said they found their current plan on a healthcare marketplace like healthcare.gov.
Our survey was conducted September 9-11 among 407 registered Utah voters. It has a margin of error of +/- 4.9%.
[Editor's note: Zions Bank is a major sponsor of UtahPolicy.com, which makes production of these surveys possible].
