Voices for Utah Children celebrates the Legislature's support to Keep Utah Kids Covered and fund 12-month continuous eligibility for children on Medicaid, age 0-5. We want to express our gratitude and many thanks to Senator Luz Escamilla and to Representative Ray Ward for championing children’s coverage. Guaranteeing stable coverage ensures children can get the care they need to grow up healthy and succeed.
12-month continuous eligibility is a key policy priority to help Utah reach 100% Kids Coverage. Utah has one of the highest rates of uninsured children in the nation, ranking #44 out of 51. In recent years, Utah has seen the number of uninsured children increase. A policy of 12-month continuous coverage will help reverse this negative trend so that children do not lose coverage due to minor income changes or red tape.
On Thursday evening, thanks to the efforts of Senator Escamilla, funding to Keep Kids Covered was included in House Bill 3. Representative Ward led the request to Keep Kids Covered in the Social Services Appropriations committee, which received unanimous support from committee members. Thanks to these efforts, thousands more Utah children will be able to stay insured and stay healthy. Thousands more parents will no longer have to worry that an extra shift at work or small income change could put their children’s coverage at risk. Year-round coverage for children age 0-5 will ensure young children have the continuity of care needed to support their healthy development.
In this tight budget year, Voices for Utah Children commends the Legislature's support for children's health insurance. We thank the legislative champions, the 100% Kids Coverage Coalition and the many supporters who took action on this critical issue.
Together we can create a Utah where no child is uninsured, no child is afraid or unable to get the care they need to thrive.
These (and other!) groups helped to make continuous coverage a reality for Utah children age 0-5:
- Action Utah
- Arrive Utah
- American Academy of Pediatrics- Utah Chapter
- Association for Utah Community Health (AUCH)
- Centro de la Familia
- Comunidades Unidas
- Community Health Connect
- Crossroads Urban Center
- Early Intervention Providers Consortium
- Holy Cross Ministries
- Intermountain Healthcare
- International Rescue Committee
- Kids Who Count
- Legislative Coalition for People with Disabilities
- People's Health Clinic
- Root for Kids
- Take Care Utah
- United Way of Salt Lake
- Utah Academy of Family Physicians
- Utah Family Voices
- Utah Health Policy Project
- Utah Hospital Association
- Utah PTA
- YWCA Utah
