health insurance news

The Salt Lake Tribune–U.S. Supreme Court Justice Eena Kagan mentioned Utah’s state health insurance exchange during arguments regarding the Affordable Care Act’s mandate that everyone purchase health insurance by 2014. “Justice Elena Kagan said it appeared the act and its benefits to consumers could operate outside of the requirement that everyone buy coverage. ‘Although the exchanges function perfectly well in Utah, where there is no mandate,’ Kagan said. ‘They function differently, but they function.’”

ThinkProgress – Utah solutions sound a lot like Affordable Care Act solutions, according to blogger Igor Volsky.

Politico – Utah stands with Massachusetts as one of only two states with statewide health insurance exchanges in operation. It’s a bare-bones system with minimal bureaucracy, and the state would like it to stay that way.

BusinessWeek – President Barack Obama faces a fight over the health-care overhaul from states that say they’ll sue because the legislation’s expansion of Medicaid imposes a fiscal strain their cash-strapped budgets can’t afford.

The Washington Times – The White House and its Democratic allies on Sunday tried to play down the role of a government insurance option in health care legislation as the party in power worked to reclaim momentum on President Obama’s top domestic priority.

The Salt Lake Tribune – The Utah Department of Health says the percentage of uninsured Utahns changed little from 2007 to 2008. The Utah Healthcare Access Survey, released as part of Cover the Uninsured Week, shows 10.7 percent of Utahns were uninsured in 2008, up slightly from 10.6 percent in 2007.

Click here to see Utah’s State Health Guide.

ZDNet – Conservatives seeking a model for their own brand of health reform will find their Massachusetts in Utah, where Gov. Jon Huntsman today signed four laws aimed at cutting costs without making wholesale changes in the system.

Click here to see Massachusetts’ State Health Guide.