The system hardly served the best interest of a boy "gave up" on living by shooting himself, the boy's aunt told lawmakers during emotional testimony. In telling the story, she also read his final journal entry.

She said her nephew fell through the gaps in the system that are created by policies that won't allow treatment providers to share information, treatment protocols or current medications.

"If the other facilities could have shared what had been going on, maybe he would still be here," she said. "Not even a family member was contacted when he was released the last time. And now a loss as difficult as any caused by a physical problem is rippling through his family — siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents, even great-grandparents — for who knows how long."

The disparity built into the system isn't just letting down single individuals, lawmakers were told. Inconsistencies over who gets what health care isn't only harming Utah minorities and poor, the entire system is suffering from overpriced services and less than desirable outcomes for every dollar spent.

Minorities in particular and thousands of low-income residents don't receive proper screenings, allowing cancers not to be detected until they have grown large enough or have metastasized to different parts of the body where symptoms can be detected — usually too late to do any good.

That same group is likely to receive recommended immunizations for influenza and pneumococcal pneumonia, the most common type of pneumonia. They tend to be hospitalized at a higher rate and have below normal rates of positive treatment outcomes when they are, lawmakers were told.

Judi Hillman, executive director of the Utah Health Policy Project, said Utah has had a health care system designed for one of the most homogeneous states in the country. Utah is now one of the most rapidly diversifying populations in the country. The focus of whatever is done must take that into account.

Lawmakers took no action, other than to advise the audience not to expect much if any additional funding to help solve the problems.

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E-mail: jthalman@desnews.com