Hoping a little Christmas cheer might promote the spirit of fixing an ongoing Medicaid glitch, about a dozen poor Utahns and their advocates sang Christmas carols outside the Governor's Mansion on Wednesday afternoon.

Wearing tinsel and pipe cleaners as eyeglass frames, and changing the tune "Jingle Bells" to "Medicaid," carolers encouraged the governor to add funding for glasses to his new $11.7 billion budget proposal.

Oh, what fun it isn't not to be able to see, several members of the group agreed between songs.

"We're asking the governor to propose fixing a technicality in benefits for Medicaid recipients," said Bill Tibbetts, advocate and director of the nonprofit Utah Anti-Hunger Action Committee. "It would be a teeny, tiny amount — about $180,000 to $270,000 — but it would be invaluable to these people, some of whom have gone more than four years without glasses."

Vision benefits to Utahns covered by Medicaid were actually restored during the 2007 legislative session earlier this year. But the fact that Utah required a $10 co-pay created a funding glitch in the joint state/federal insurance plan for the poor. The federal government will only allow states to charge a $3 co-pay for the benefit. As a result, the benefit has gone unused.

"The governor's leadership got the funding for this service in this year's budget after several years, so we are hopeful that he will do what is needed to get permission so the money can actually be spent," Tibbetts said.

The governor can recommend a change, but the decision would be left up to lawmakers when they meet starting in January. A bill to do so is yet to be filed.

Tibbetts and the group are hoping the governor will add it to his budget request because doing so would at least get the proposal on the table and require legislative response.

Under the current benefit, people on Medicaid can have their eyes examined but do not have coverage for glasses.

Nearly 300,000 Utahns are covered by Medicaid. Utah spends 7 percent of its general tax revenues for the Medicaid program, placing it 49th out of 50 states in the percentage spent on the insurance plan.

Medicaid reimbursement for doctors and dentists has been quite low in Utah compared to other states, limiting some of the options available to Medicaid patients. The governor on Monday recommended $18 million be spent decreasing the gap between charges for services and what the insurance plan will pay.

The Legislature empaneled a special Medicaid Interim Committee that has met regularly the past two years and has been reviewing in detail policies and practices within the program, including optical and dental benefits.

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E-mail: jthalman@desnews.com