A chorus of residents stood up during a tense, two-hour public hearing to bemoan the complicated applications, stricter eligibility requirements and other restrictions Utah’s proposed Medicaid expansion would place on care for vulnerable patients.
"I need services, I need outpatient and inpatient, I need to have some options," Adam Montgomery, a resident who is being treated for bipolar disorder, told the crowd.
The Utah Department of Health met with residents Thursday to collect feedback before submitting the plan to the federal government.
Nathan Checketts, the director of the department's Medicaid program, estimated the waiver request would be submitted sometime this summer.