Proponents of the merger say it will improve efficiency and information-sharing.
(Leah Hogsten | Tribune file photo) Utah Health Director Richard Saunders, pictured in this Sept. 3, 2020, file photo, supports the planned merger of his department with the agency over human services in the state. The proposal is advancing in the Legislature and has the support of Gov. Spencer Cox.
| Feb. 25, 2021, 9:45 p.m.
An attempt to combine two major state agencies the departments of health and human services is progressing through the Legislature with support from Utah’s new governor.
“We feel the best way to be more efficient and effective as we deliver services to the public is to combine these two agencies together and try to break down those silos and get communication going,” said Rep. Paul Ray, who’s sponsoring legislation to set this merger in motion. “So that people aren’t going to two, three, four different places to get services.”
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Many Utahns have lost their health insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic, but subsidized coverage is now available through the Affordable Care Act.
Credit Rido/Adobe Stock
You may know it as Obamacare.
But nowadays, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has a new moniker, Bidencare, because President Joe Biden ordered the Health Insurance Marketplace reopened through May 15 to help Utahns and others who lost health insurance during the COVID-19 crisis get a subsidized plan.
The Biden administration is putting $50 million into marketing and advertising the special enrollment period to guide qualified Utahns through the process of getting covered.
Stacy Stanford, health policy analyst for the Utah Health Policy Project and the Take Care Utah Network, said health advocates have been pushing for the marketplace to reopen since the beginning of the pandemic.
KSL TV
5PM: Utahns have another chance to enroll in Affordable Care Act marketplace
KSL TV
SALT LAKE CITY Utahns who missed open enrollment for the federal Affordable Care Act marketplace have a second chance. Normally, sign-up is just once a year.
The federal exchange website reopened sign-ups for another three months, giving uninsured Americans plenty of time to explore health insurance options. This is an open door for anyone who is uninsured or underinsured, Stanford explained to KSL-TV. If you re currently in an aca plan and you want to make changes, this is a really wide open enrollment period.
• Jan 26, 2021
Today on Access Utah we’ll continue our coverage of the 2021 Utah Legislature by checking in with several advocacy and research groups. We’ll ask them what their priorities are and what they hope emerges from this session of the legislature. We’ll be talking to representatives from Sutherland Institute, Libertas Institute, Utah Health Policy Project, Utah Foundation, Utah League of Cities and Towns, and Crossroads Urban Center.