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Senate approves bill directing Health Department to pursue Medicaid waivers and block-grant options after vigorous debate
Summary
After extended debate about federal match rates, separation of powers and potential impacts on vulnerable populations, the Senate passed a first-substitute bill directing the Utah Department of Health to design and, where federally allowed, pursue Medicaid waivers and per-capita block grants subject to safeguards and reporting requirements.
The Utah State Senate on Day 30 passed a first-substitute bill that asks the Department of Health to design and seek federal waivers and per-capita block-grant arrangements intended to give the state more flexibility in how it spends Medicaid dollars.
Sponsors and backers described the measure as an attempt to allow the state to test alternative payment models, pilot health-savings accounts, and implement work and community engagement requirements while requiring federal matching funds and limiting any change that would put Utah’s current federal match at risk. “There’s always a way to ask them to pull it back,” the sponsor said in defense of giving the department limited…
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