January 29, 2021

 

Hello Health Care Advocates,

what a week! There was a lot of health policy movement on the state and federal level, and we have the rundown for you here.

First, a reminder to check out our bill tracker on our website; you can also find links to these weekly session emails and other updates from our team on that page. 

A few highlights from Week 2:

  • hb34 Medical Respite Care Pilot Program: Passed the House and was assigned to Senate HHS

  • hb102 Contraception for Inmates: Passed House HHS with a favorable recommendation, headed to the floor

  • hb206 Epinephrine Auto-Injector Access Amendments: Passed House HHS with a favorable recommendation, headed to the floor 

  • hb262 Children's Health Insurance Amendments: Introduced! Waiting for committee assignment. 

  • sb103 Dental Hygienist Amendments: Passed Senate HHS with a favorable recommendation, headed to the floor

We are thrilled that the Biden administration plans to re-open the healthcare.gov marketplace for a NEW three-month enrollment period from February 15th- May 15th. Any Utahns who are uninsured or under-insured can sign up for coverage during this time or change their current marketplace plan. Contact our team for free remote enrollment assistance.

 https://www.healthpolicyproject.org/bookings

This new enrollment period is part of President Biden's health care executive order, which also directs agencies to review policies that create barriers to coverage and care, including work requirements. We look forward to seeing administrative actions that strengthen Medicaid and other health care programs. 

We are still concerned about the Governor's plan to restructure the Department of Health and Department of Human Services. See this one-pager with a brief explanation of the issues with consolidation and topline talking points. 

Let us know if your organization would like to sign on to a letter, and stay tuned for more ways to get involved in advocating for interim study rather than a rushed merger. 

You can see the notes from this week's Health Care Round Table linked here, and you can plan to join us on Thursdays at 1:00 for policy discussions, strategy brainstorming, and updates from advocates and elected officials. 

Finally, please be sure to join us Wednesday evening for a screening of the short film "Living in the Gap" and a panel discussion on Medicaid expansion and other opportunities to expand health care coverage in Utah.

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/492019898454384 

Zoom link to attend: https://zoom.us/j/93478007196?pwd=ZkRpZUFaUmpHaXJzTEVNeTZ4OXVMZz09

Stay well, 

The UHPP Team

the UHPP logo

Utah Health Policy Project

2369 W Orton Circle Suite 20 | West Valley City, Utah | 84119
Questions? Email stacy@healthpolicyproject.org 

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