The 2012 General Session of the Utah state legislature will begin January 23 and conclude March 8. Bill Barnes of Intermountain Healthcare's Government Relations Department offers the following preview.
For the past several years state revenues have been down, requiring significant cuts in funding for many state programs. The good news: State revenues are increasing. The bad news: The increase is slight. There are several issues that promise to make this session interesting:
- Medicaid funding. While state revenues appear to have turned the corner, the increase is small, and there will be fierce competition for the dollars. Additionally, federal Medicaid funding increases, designed to help states through the recession, are ending.
- Healthcare Reform. It still is not clear how Utah will respond to all the issues relating to federal health reform. For example, while Utah has had a functioning insurance exchange, work is needed to ensure it complies with the requirements of the federal Accountable Care Act.
- Legislative turnover. A significant number of legislators have resigned since the last election for a variety of reasons, including some members who have traditionally focused on health-related issues.
Additionally, we can expect bills relating to insurance mandates, "Any Willing Provider," transparency, and patient safety issues to come up during the session.
Trustees can learn more about legislative activities by signing up for Intermountain's Health Policy Network, which provides email updates about state and national political issues. Sign subscribe, please fill out the online contact information form for the Health Policy Network.
Published in January 2012. For electronic email subscription, please contact Intermountain's Communications Department at 801-442-2836, or email to trusteefeedback@imail.org.