AARP Utah

Utah Family Caregivers Provide $4.15 Billion

Notalys LLC released its report, Expanding Utah's Health Insurance Options today at a press briefing at the Utah State Capitol, outlining the differences between two plans that were under consideration by the Utah legislature during the last session. Governor Herbert's Healthy Utah plan was passed by the Utah Senate, and Utah Cares was passed by the Utah House of Representatives. Because no agreement was reached on how to cover the more than 50,000 low-income Utahns who currently fall into a health insurance coverage gap--making too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little to qualify for health insurance subsidies--a committee of House and Senate leaders, the Governor Herbert, and Lt. Governor Spencer Cox set July 31 as the deadline for coming up with a plan to address this population.

In a 6-3 decision issued Thursday, June 25, the Supreme Court ruled in the case of King v Burwell that federal subsidies for people to buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act (Act) are constitutional. The issue in the case was whether subsidies would only be allowed if the subsidies were given through exchanges that the states set up themselves. Because 34 declined to set up their own exchanges and defaulted to the federal exchanges instead, the question was whether the provision of subsidies through the federal exchange was authorized by the Act. According to Utah Policy, approximately 87 percent of enrollees in the federal exchanges receive subsidies to buy health insurance, or about 6.4 million people according to the Obama administration. In Utah, 67 percent of Utahns who use the federal exchange will be able to keep their subsidies.

The following press release was issued by AARP on Tuesday, June 16.

This press release was issued by AARP on June 4, 2015.

Congratulations to AARP Utah's Community Outreach Director Jill Duke, who was honored April 17 as the Utah Food Bank's Board Member of the Year. The remarks by Board Chair Scott Jensen honoring her for this award follow below:

from the AARP Media Relations Office

by Sid Kirchheimer

AARP Utah extends its warmest congratulations to Duane Blackwell, AARP’s Driver Safety Program 2014 Utah Volunteer of the Year who was recently selected as the Regional Volunteer of the Year for Western Region 2. He will now compete with seven other regional winners across the country for the Michael Seaton Volunteer of the Year, the highest award bestowed within the Driver Safety Program recognizing its most outstanding volunteer.

By Danny Harris, Advocacy Director, AARP Utah