Comments about ‘Utah's solutions to Medicaid woes have been stifled by Washington’

Maybe the feds see a pattern with the utah government. Parking garages, soccer stadiums, and roads get funded, all while the state makes cuts to services to the most in need.

Gov. Herbert might be right(Never thought I would say that) but does anyone really believe the republicans in this state are out to help anyone but themselves?

I really liked this opinion piece by the Guv. We tried to tell the American people that the "affordable care act" was going to be a nightmare for this Country. We are officially subjects to Kathleen Sebelius now. They've taken away part of the first amendment (freedom of religion) so what's to stop them from taking the freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, right to petition for the redress of grievances, right to bear arms and so on.
There is really no reason to have elected State Governments anymore. They may as well just appoint Czars from Washington to manage our affairs. They do not trust individuals or their elected representatives at state level to make decisions.
Shaun- you may be concerned about the "needy" but I say put your money where your mouth is because the new Medicaid requirements are going to cost every citizen more in taxes. There is no way around that. Kathleen Sebelius knows how to spend your money wisely.

How about rolling medicaid and medicare into a single payer health system (health care, not health insurance), properly funded and available to all?

@Red State Pride. I have no problem with paying medicare or medicaid. There are people who need help. I think the system has flaws but as far as I am concerned the real problem is the captialist part of equation. Why does asprin cost 20 dollars a pill in the hospital? Because they are like any other business and they need to maximize profits.

Trying to explain to an eight year old that their mom is going to die because she reached her cap on insurance and dad can't afford to pay the hospital bills so the doctors and ceo's can drive porches and live in big houses is difficult.

Healthcare is out of control. Some people blame it on regulations(name some). I blame it on the fact hospitals, doctors, drug companies know that we need them more than then they need us.

Living in Cottonwood Heights we can't expect red state pride to understand the plight of the poor but one thing is certain. Medicaid costs will soar with Utah's abstinence only law. Otherwise step back a moment and look at the big picture. Healthcare will be 50% of our GNP in 20 years. You should hope the Affordable Healthcare Act is only a step in the right direction of a single healthcare program. Please don't tell me we can't afford it because we are already spending more than enough to pay for it.

I am so tired of hearing about healthcare. America is being bankrupted by healthcare. The Government was responsible for over half of all healthcare spending before Obamacare and is on the path to 100 percent. If you think it was expensive before then just wait. You want to know why it costs so much Shaun? Because no one pays out of pocket - it's all third party payments so there is no market mechanism to hold down costs. There will be a mechanism in the future- it's called IPAB. Unelected bureaucrats will decide what treatment you get. Good luck with that.
In Quebec (that promised land of universal healthcare) eighty percent of revenue goes to health spending. How's that going to work out in America when 20% of revenue already goes to service the debt? Explain how that's going to work financially.
I live in Cottonwood Heights but I'm by no means "rich". I paid close to ten thousand dollars each in medical expenses when my two children were born. I didn't whine about it or ask the govt for the money. I paid it myself and one I had to finance for awhile. So I don't have a soft spot for bleedin' heart stories.

Good ideas Governor, but if they are approved the real purpose of the Affordable Care Act, which is make health care policy only in Washington will be subverted. Good luck with that meeting with the Secretary. Time would be better spent finding a way to make sure she is not in that position come 2013.

@Red state pride. Ten grand a piece for two births is nothing for health care. There are people who owe over six figures.

I think people paying out of pocket would lower some cost but would they be healthier or just putting off healthcare problems because they can't really afford it? Then they end up needing major surgery or hospitalization later on that they can not afford and we are back to square one.

@shaun- where is it written that life is fair? Never has been, never will be.

Isn't Utah in litigation against the federal government on this and/or related issues? Maybe Utah's obstreperousness and having no voice in a non-Republican world has an effect.

Bit "ugottabkidn" is right that it is time for a single payer health insurance system. And it is more than affordable.

Surely, our governor can't be that naive. He has to recognize that the Obama adminsitration has nothing but disgust for us since our state won't capitulate to this massive social engineneer project called the Affordable Healthcare Act. Sebellius and the HHS thugs are vindicting the fact that Utah has never supported his agenda and never will. As far as I see it, Governor Herbert is well within his prerogatives to expose the double standard, but to expect consideration from this group is a a bit of stretch.

To "red state pride" if you paid $10,000 for each child being born, you either had significant complications with each child (not a standard birth) or else blindly paid medical bills without making sure that the fees were legitimate.

My most expensive child cost me about $2000. One child only cost me $700 for the birth.

The problem is that if we turned the system over to the government, we would end up with women giving birth in elevators, bathrooms, and offices at the hospital like what is currently occuring in England.

Also, consider this. Is it easier to say to your child, the insurance is maxed out so I will have to pay out of pocket and things will be tight than it will be to say that the Government doesn't have the money to pay for the medical bills and the state hospital won't accept a repayment plan?