A bill replacing Utah’s voter-approved Medicaid expansion initiative with a more restrictive program was put on temporary hold Thursday, but Republican Senate leaders expect the bill to be on its way to the House on Friday and to the governor next week.
Asked about the rapid pace for a significant piece of legislation — the 2019 session began on Monday — Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, said swift passage allows the state to begin applying for waivers from the federal government, with the ultimate goal of enrolling new Medicaid beneficiaries on April 1.
Under the voter-approved Proposition 3, the federal government will pay 90 percent of the costs for roughly 150,00 low-income Utahns — earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level — to participate in Medicaid.