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Utah House debates sunsetting hospital assessment tied to tobacco settlement; bill set aside for further work
Summary
Lawmakers debated House Bill 284, which would repeal the Medicaid hospital-provider temporary assessment tax if state tobacco-settlement payments materialize; supporters said it would relieve hospitals and patients, while opponents called the timing premature and sought safeguards for CHIP funding.
Representative Margaret Dayton, sponsor of House Bill 284, told the House the bill would sunset the Medicaid hospital-provider temporary assessment tax when tobacco settlement payments become available and that doing so "would not jeopardize the CHIP program as it would not go into effect until that money was here." She described the hospital assessment as a tax on "unwanted illness and injury" and urged its elimination once an alternative revenue source exists.
Opponents pressed that the legislature cannot presume the arrival, timing, or size of tobacco-settlement receipts. Representative Alexander argued the chamber should not earmark funds…
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