No New Eyeglasses for Medicaid Patients Thanks to Legislative Mistake

None by KCPW

(KCPW News) Low-income Utahns who need a new pair of glasses are out of luck this year. Lawmakers allocated money for glasses, but a mix up is keeping it in the bank. KCPW's Julie Rose reports:

 

A legislative mix-up has tied-up 174-thousand dollars intended to buy glasses for Medicaid patients in Utah. State lawmakers made that funding contingent on a patient co-pay of ten-dollars. But federal rules only allow three-dollar co-pays for Medicaid patients.

That means about 60-thousand Medicaid patients in Utah will have to wait until next year for clear vision.

State Medicaid Director Michael Hales asked legislators to make an exception and lower the co-pay to appease federal laws.

Legislative leaders say they can't make that change without approval from the rest of their colleagues. Instead, they plan to wait until January when they convene in General Session.

Low-income activists want Governor Huntsman to call a special session and fix the problem. Huntsman's office has told the Anti-Hunger Action Committee the problem is a federal one he has no authority to handle. Activist Adam Burgett disagrees, since lawmakers have already pledged to fix the problem during the coming legislative session. A special session could speed the fix, he says.

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