Medicaid Expansion Divides Governors Race

Press Release

When it comes to expanding Medicaid, all three Utah candidates for governor have very different views.

Democrat Mike Weinholtz wants full expansion, Republican challenger Jonathan Johnson wants to keep medicaid the way it is, and Governor Gary Herbert is in the middle.

"That's a basic Utah value that we take care of one another," Weinholtz said. "We're not getting $400 to $500 million dollars back from the federal government we are already paying in taxes."

Johnson disagrees. He calls expansion a recipe to bankrupt the state.

"Government shouldn't be the agent of our charity," Johnson said.

Gov. Herbert worked for three years on his Healthy Utah Plan. It would have extended Medicaid health insurance to thousands of Utahns. He was repeatedly defeated in the legislature.

Instead, lawmakers chose a minimal Medicaid expansion. 16,000 poor Utahns were given access to insurance.

Full medicaid expansion would extend the benefits to 125,000 Utahns.

"What the legislature did is was what Utah can afford," Johnson said.

A new Dan Jones and associates poll published by Utahpolicy.com suggests Utahns favor more expansion.

51% of Utahns say they support full expansion. 19% support the legislatures minimal plan. 18% want no expansion at all.

Weinholtz notes the majority of Utahns are on his side. "If we could get the legislature to listen to the people like they're supposed to, we would have a better chance of doing that."

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