Health

Your story makes a difference.

The new administration and Congress are considering proposals that could harm Utahns enrolled in health coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medicaid or CHIP. Are you a parent who is enrolled in one of these vital programs? Is your child enrolled? Voices for Utah Children is currently talking with Utah families with children that benefit from these programs, so that we can better communicate your needs to lawmakers. Lawmakers need to know how cuts to these programs would affect their constituents.

No long-term commitment is necessary. A member of the Voices for Utah Children team will ask you about how these health programs have helped your family and how your family would be affected if you lost your health coverage. If you give us permission, we will share your story on our website, through social media, and with lawmakers directly. Your story could be vital to saving these important programs.

You can contact Jessie Mandle, our health policy analyst, by email at  or by phone at 801-364-1182. 

You can also submit your story online here.

Are you a healthcare provider with patients that benefit from the ACA, Medicaid and CHIP?  Share your story here.

For 30 years now, Voices for Utah Children has called on our state, federal and local leaders to put children’s needs first. But the work is not done. The children of 30 years ago now have children of their own. Too many of these children are growing up in poverty, without access to healthcare or quality educational opportunities.

How can you be involved?

Make a tax-deductible donation to Voices for Utah Children—or join our Network with a monthly donation of $20 or more.  Network membership includes complimentary admission to Network events with food, socializing, and opportunity to meet child advocacy experts. And don't forget to join our listserv to stay informed!

We look forward to the future of Voices for Utah Children and we hope you will be a part of our next 30 years.

Special thanks to American Express, our "Making a Difference All Year Long" sponsor. 

Utah FAQ’s

What is 12-month continuous eligibility for children on Medicaid?

Continuous eligibility is a state option that allows children, up through age 18, to maintain Medicaid coverage throughout the year, even if families experience a change in income or family status. By implementing continuous eligibility policies, a state ensures that for 365 days a year children get—and keep—health coverage.

What is churn?

“Churning” is when children are disenrolled in a public health insurance program and then re-enrolled after only a brief time without public insurance (2-6 months). “Churn” is the on-and-off-and-on pattern of enrollment that may be unrelated to actual eligibility status.

How does 12-month continuous eligibility affect families and children?

When children are enrolled in a program for 12 continuous months, they are less likely to lose their insurance coverage and more likely to experience continuity of care. In many cases, families must dis-enroll from Medicaid after securing unexpected temporary or seasonal work. When the short-term job ends, they must re-enroll in benefits. This creates an unnecessary burden for families. Parents are penalized for trying to improve their family’s economic circumstances through temporary or seasonal work.

How does 12-month continuous eligibility improve children’s health?

Children who have health insurance continuously throughout the year are more likely to have better health. Guaranteeing ongoing coverage ensures that children can receive appropriate preventive care, stay up to date on well-child visits and immunizations, fill their monthly prescriptions, and receive timely treatment for any health issues that arise. Stable coverage also enables providers to establish relationships with children and their parents and to track their health and development.

In contrast, when children experience gaps in health insurance coverage, they are less likely to have access to medical care. Interruptions in coverage can mean that children skip or delay a doctor’s visit or a prescriptions refill. People experiencing gaps in Medicaid coverage often experience serious health problems, while continuous Medicaid coverage is related to better health.

How will continuous eligibility help children with special health care needs?

According to Department of Health analysis, Medicaid children who are blind or disabled have one of the lowest average lengths of Medicaid eligiblity, compared to other eligibility categories. This suggests that children who are blind or disabled may be experiencing disruptions in care or coverage. A policy of 12-month continuous would allow all children, including those who are blind of disabled, to have continous health coverage.

How will continuous eligibility improve health plan accountability and value?

Continuous eligibility allows health plans to more accurately measure the quality of children’s health services and initiate program improvement strategies. Continuous eligibility improves health plan accountability. Health plans use a set of tools, called HEDIS measures (the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set), to assess their performance on health care and service. HEDIS measures require a one-year standard of continuous enrollment data. Children experiencing churn are not captured; HEDIS does not reflect the full make-up of children receiving care. Continuous eligibility leads to more comprehensive program improvement targets and better health care value for enrollees.

Why should Utah implement 12-month continuous eligibility now?

Despite declines in overall uninsured rates, Utah still has one of the highest rates of uninsured children in the nation. Continuous eligibility is a recognized best practice for states to lower their uninsured rate, improve program accountability and value, and assure vulnerable children get the best care.

Continuous eligibility helps retain children with low enrollment rates, including Hispanic children. Hispanic children are more likely to experience churn because of a change in their family’s temporary income status. At least 31% of Hispanic children have parents who lack year-round employment, compared to 18% of White children. Utah has the highest rate of uninsured Hispanic children in the nation. Programs that help children maintain continuous coverage, once they are enrolled, will reduce ethnic health disparities.

Health care leaders and officials urge states to adopt continuous eligibility as one of the top strategies to retain children in insurance programs and strengthen continuity of care.

12-month continuous eligibility is a critical way to make sure that Utah children have health insurance the entire year. All children should have access to health care without gaps or disruptions in coverage.

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Support 12-Month Continuous Eligibility for Utah Kids with Medicaid

Photo Credit: © Talanis | Dreamstime.com - Family Under The Rain Photo

For 30 years now, Voices for Utah Children has called on our state, federal and local leaders to put children’s needs first. But the work is not done. The children of 30 years ago now have children of their own. Too many of these children are growing up in poverty, without access to healthcare or quality educational opportunities.

How can you be involved?

Make a tax-deductible donation to Voices for Utah Children—or join our Network with a monthly donation of $20 or more.  Network membership includes complimentary admission to Network events with food, socializing, and opportunity to meet child advocacy experts. And don't forget to join our listserv to stay informed!

We look forward to the future of Voices for Utah Children and we hope you will be a part of our next 30 years.

Special thanks to American Express, our "Making a Difference All Year Long" sponsor. 

Yesterday, Governor Herbert released his annual state budget recommendations.

The staff of Voices for Utah children found several reasons to be encouraged by his proposals.

We support the Governor and his team for their commitment to social services, and our most vulnerable children and families. Specifically, we applaud the Governor’s fiscally-prudent step to support family planning. This will have important benefits for families, including those in intergenerational poverty. With this investment, the state can expect to see savings by 2019. We thank the Governor for his leadership on this issue critical to children and families.

As an organization dedicated to helping all Utah children and families succeed, we believe that our social safety net provides a critical role to help families who have fallen on hard times get back on their feet. As noted in the Budget Recommendations, Utah has a “longstanding social fabric of self-determination.”

Our state budget priorities should support families’ ability to access and utilize public benefits in their time of need. Utah has the highest rate of children who are eligible for CHIP and Medicaid, but not enrolling in public programs. These children are uninsured and not able to benefit from health care services.

As the Governor declares, “the most effective programs, in terms of both quality outcomes and costs, prioritize preventative service delivery.” We strongly support the Governor’s focus. Health insurance coverage is the foundation to build successful prevention initiatives. We must strengthen and support our health insurance programs so that families and children can achieve their optimal health.

We are encouraged by the Governor’s recognition that early childhood is the cornerstone for lifelong learning. We support the Governor’s appropriation for the Baby Watch Early Intervention program as a critical first step. We look forward to seeing the Governor’s 10-year education plan, and hope the Governor will maintain his commitment to early childhood, so that we can establish a strong foundation for children’s healthy development, setting them up for success in school and beyond.

Voices for Utah Children welcomes Governor Herbert’s call in his FY2018 Budget Recommendations to conduct a comprehensive review of the state’s overall tax structure. In the section entitled “Taxation and a Free Market Economy” on page 9-12 (pages 13-16 of the pdf), there is an extended discussion of the trends and challenges facing Utah in terms of taxes and public revenues. The report highlights the downward trend in Utah’s overall level of taxation (including all state and local taxes and fees) and refers to the growing public sentiment that current revenues fall short of meeting the state’s minimum needs. The Governor declares his intention to address this pressing challenge with two concrete actions:
1. “the Governor will be establishing a task force of business leaders and education stakeholders to develop a comprehensive solution that aligns Utah’s tax structure with the modern economy (not just a rate increase), and
2. will request that the Tax Review Commission study and make recommendations regarding the state’s current tax structure, including alternatives for aligning the tax structure with the modern economy and identifying and reviewing tax credits, tax exemptions, tax exclusions, and other preferential tax loopholes.” (page 12)

The Governor and his team should be applauded for addressing these issues so thoughtfully and directly in the Budget Recommendations document and for his intent to convene further study and discussion about how to address this challenge going forward. In other states across the nation and across the political spectrum, the presence or absence of gubernatorial leadership has been a critical factor in determining whether states have been able to address their pressing challenges.

Voices for Utah Children has for a number of years raised the question of whether the current generation of Utahns is doing its part, as earlier generations did, to set aside sufficient resources each year to invest in the building blocks of our future growth and prosperity. Utah’s longstanding commitment to fiscal responsibility should extend beyond balanced budgets and strong bond ratings to also include taking responsibility for making the necessary investments today that reap benefits for future generations in the years and decades to come.

The complete document is available here:

Budget Recommendations Fiscal Year 2018

For 30 years now, Voices for Utah Children has called on our state, federal and local leaders to put children’s needs first. But the work is not done. The children of 30 years ago now have children of their own. Too many of these children are growing up in poverty, without access to healthcare or quality educational opportunities.

How can you be involved?

Make a tax-deductible donation to Voices for Utah Children—or join our Network with a monthly donation of $20 or more.  Network membership includes complimentary admission to Network events with food, socializing, and opportunity to meet child advocacy experts. And don't forget to join our listserv to stay informed!

We look forward to the future of Voices for Utah Children and we hope you will be a part of our next 30 years.

Special thanks to American Express, our "Making a Difference All Year Long" sponsor. 

A new study from the Urban Institute shows the alarming impact of a partial repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on children and families. As we recently reported, Utah’s uninsured rates dropped in recent years, due to the provisions of the ACA. But if Congress moves forward with a partial repeal of the ACA in 2017, millions of children and families stand to lose coverage nationwide, and here in Utah.

The report from the Urban Institute looks at the partial repeal bill that Congress passed and President Obama vetoed in 2016. The report found:

• The number of uninsured children would more than double nationwide. More than 4 million could lose coverage. Nationally, the child uninsured rate would jump from an all time low of 4% to 9%.
• Here in Utah, 273,000 Utahns could lose health insurance leaving an estimated 601,000 adults and children uninsured under the reconciliation bill.
• Utah stands to lose billions of dollars in state and federal heath care dollars, which will have a dramatic impact on the our state budget and the strength of our safety net.
• Uncompensated care will increase pressures on state and local governments, as providers seek to meet the growing number of uninsured.

Repealing the ACA without a replacement strategy is not a plan; it’s a risky step that threatens the health and well-being of children and families. Endangering their health without a clear and sound path forward is unsafe and unwise.

For more information, read the complete report:

Implications of Partial Repeal of the ACA through Reconciliation

For 30 years now, Voices for Utah Children has called on our state, federal and local leaders to put children’s needs first. But the work is not done. The children of 30 years ago now have children of their own. Too many of these children are growing up in poverty, without access to healthcare or quality educational opportunities.

How can you be involved?

Make a tax-deductible donation to Voices for Utah Children—or join our Network with a monthly donation of $20 or more.  Network membership includes complimentary admission to Network events with food, socializing, and opportunity to meet child advocacy experts. And don't forget to join our listserv to stay informed!

We look forward to the future of Voices for Utah Children and we hope you will be a part of our next 30 years.

Special thanks to American Express, our "Making a Difference All Year Long" sponsor. 

Donate to
If you were given three wishes for the children in your life, what would they be?

• A healthy life.
• A good education.
• To never want for the necessities.
• The chance to experience a family of their own.

Shouldn’t we want that for all children in Utah? Today, there are over 950,000 children living in Utah. Unfortunately, over 120,000 of those children live in poverty, over 85,000 are not insured which threatens their well-being, and too many go to bed hungry (yes, even in Utah). But it doesn’t have to be that way.

You can help ensure that all of Utah’s children experience the healthy and joyous childhood that you wish for your children. You are the difference between a sick child and one that is looking forward to a successful future.

Children rely on decisions adults make. They rely on their parents or guardians to meet their needs and invest in their future. They also rely on policymakers to make sure they have access to health care, a safe environment, and a quality education. And they rely on you to help make their voices heard. For over 30 years, Voices for Utah Children has called on our state’s leaders to put children’s needs first. With your help, Voices for Utah Children can continue to guide local, state, and federal policies that will allow all children to live out the same story we want for our own children.

If you believe in changing our kids' future, we're your voice in Utah’s capitol. We help decision-makers understand the children's issues that matter to you, take your message to policymakers, focus media on the issues you care about, and give politicians a reason to push for solutions you can take pride in.

We depend on citizens like you – folks who care about kids and who understand the importance of having a strong, independent voice for children. We ask you to support us in our daily fight to make Utah the best place in America to grow up. Your continued support is essential for us to persistently work towards improving the lives of children in Utah. Because of Voices for Utah Children’s commitment to independence, we do not take government funds for our work.

You can change the future of the child who comes to school not ready to learn. Instead, you can make sure that child is able to attend quality preschool or all-day kindergarten. That child can start kindergarten and first grade ready to succeed, because you choose to help us speak out on behalf of quality preschool and kindergarten for at-risk kids.

You provide us the opportunity to speak out for policies that improve Medicaid and CHIP services for children. Kids need health care coverage 365 days a year and being able to see a doctor shouldn’t depend on the job a parent has or the decision an employer makes about the affordability of healthcare. And because we can speak out, you change the life of a child who now has continuous care for her diabetes or asthma.

Children continually compete for funding with transportation, economic development, and business interests when our elected officials decide where our state money should be spent. Voices for Utah Children will be an ever-present voice at the Legislature to ensure that children’s needs are not forgotten. Your support means you stand right there with us. You can make sure that lawmakers continue to ask themselves critical questions when it comes to allocating our dollars and cents. Because, if it isn’t good for kids, it isn’t good for Utah.
Too often, children are an afterthought in the political process, but you can join a team that's making children a priority. Your contributions have helped Voices for Utah Children deliver real wins for kids.

• We removed the 5-year waiting period for legally residing immigrant children to receive important services like Medicaid and CHIP.
• We helped at-risk children receive increased funding for quality preschool so they can start school ready to learn.
• We worked to make sure that juveniles would never be incarcerated without the possibility of parole.
• We participated in collaborative efforts to find solutions to intergenerational poverty, making sure a child’s zip code doesn’t determine her destiny.

In all kinds of ways, your support changes the story for so many of the at-risk kids living in Utah. Every child’s story deserves a happy ending. Will you help write that story? You can change lives by supporting Voices for Utah Children–together we can write a joyful ending for all our kids!

 Click here to donate

Sincerely,

Lincoln Nehring
President and CEO

P.S. Your contribution today will allow Voices for Utah Children to begin the new year ready to create healthy and happy childhoods for Utah’s kids. Kids need heros, Utah’s kids are counting on you!

P.P.S Are monthly donations easier for you? We would be happy to help you set this up. What could be better than making a difference every month! Call us at 801-364-1182 or sign up at our website.

Photo Credits:

Josh Applegate | Unsplash

© Sasin Tipchai | Dreamstime.com

For 30 years now, Voices for Utah Children has called on our state, federal and local leaders to put children’s needs first. But the work is not done. The children of 30 years ago now have children of their own. Too many of these children are growing up in poverty, without access to healthcare or quality educational opportunities.

How can you be involved?

Make a tax-deductible donation to Voices for Utah Children—or join our Network with a monthly donation of $20 or more.  Network membership includes complimentary admission to Network events with food, socializing, and opportunity to meet child advocacy experts. And don't forget to join our listserv to stay informed!

We look forward to the future of Voices for Utah Children and we hope you will be a part of our next 30 years.

Special thanks to American Express, our "Making a Difference All Year Long" sponsor. 

Over the next few months, we’ll hear a lot about health coverage. Terms like insurance mandates, marketplace, risk pools—among others—will be used frequently. We’ll continue to update Speaking of Kids’ readers on what this means for children and families in Utah. But it is important to understand the broader picture and what is at stake: that is, the ability of children, families and individuals to achieve their optimal health.Health insurance coverage is not a guarantee that someone will be healthy. There is a lot that goes into someone’s overall health including family medical history, access to quality care, environment, socioeconomic status and social conditions.

But without insurance coverage, we cannot make progress and create a place where all children, families and individuals can be healthy and thrive.

For more information, see Why Health Insurance is ImportantThere is a lot of discussion and media attention about ‘repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act’ right now. As details about different proposals emerge, let’s consider how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has affected Utah children and families to date.*

• Today almost 38,000 Utah children have coverage in the ACA health insurance marketplace. These are children at risk of becoming uninsured if the ACA is repealed.
• 23% of all Utahns receiving coverage in the ACA health insurance exchange are under 18, compared to 9% nationally. Utah has one of the highest rates of children in the ACA marketplace.
• The vast majority—87%—of Utahns in the ACA marketplace receive subsidies.
• Utah has many young families in the ACA marketplace. Over half of all Utahns in the ACA marketplace are under 34.
• Due to the provisions of the ACA, Utah recently saw a significant decline in its overall uninsured rate. Since 2011, Utah’s child uninsured rate has dropped from 11% to 7%. See our recent report to learn more about Utah’s declining uninsured rates: 
  There Are 20,000 Fewer Uninsured Kids in Utah, Thanks to the Affordable Care Act

We have made substantial progress in the last few years toward helping more children and families get health insurance coverage. Moreover, the ACA established essential health benefits that all plans must cover, including prenatal care and pediatric services. It is critically important that we not lose the gains we have made for children and families in Utah. A repeal of the ACA puts children and families’ health coverage and benefits at risk.

Contact Utah Senator Orrin Hatch and tell him to protect the ACA and affordable, comprehensive health coverage for Utahns. Utah children and families’ health depends on it.

Contact Senator Hatch

*Thank you to our friends at the Utah Health Policy Project (UHPP) for sharing these data on Utah’s health insurance exchange. For more information visit UHPP.

For 30 years now, Voices for Utah Children has called on our state, federal and local leaders to put children’s needs first. But the work is not done. The children of 30 years ago now have children of their own. Too many of these children are growing up in poverty, without access to healthcare or quality educational opportunities.

How can you be involved?

Make a tax-deductible donation to Voices for Utah Children—or join our Network with a monthly donation of $20 or more.  Network membership includes complimentary admission to Network events with food, socializing, and opportunity to meet child advocacy experts. And don't forget to join our listserv to stay informed!

We look forward to the future of Voices for Utah Children and we hope you will be a part of our next 30 years.

Special thanks to American Express, our "Making a Difference All Year Long" sponsor. 

New local data for each county in Utah are now available at the Voices for Utah Children website. Each county-level profile includes child demographics and measures of child-wellbeing related to education, health and economics.

Here are just some of the questions you can answer with the new data:

• What is the average student/teacher ratio at local schools?
• What percent of kids are chronically absent from local schools?
• How many children were victims of abuse in my county?
• What is the children’s health insurance rate in my county?
• How many local kids are living in poverty?

Check it out here: 
Kids Count County Data Sheets

Photo Credit: Scott Webb

For 30 years now, Voices for Utah Children has called on our state, federal and local leaders to put children’s needs first. But the work is not done. The children of 30 years ago now have children of their own. Too many of these children are growing up in poverty, without access to healthcare or quality educational opportunities.

How can you be involved?

Make a tax-deductible donation to Voices for Utah Children—or join our Network with a monthly donation of $20 or more.  Network membership includes complimentary admission to Network events with food, socializing, and opportunity to meet child advocacy experts. And don't forget to join our listserv to stay informed!

We look forward to the future of Voices for Utah Children and we hope you will be a part of our next 30 years.

Special thanks to American Express, our "Making a Difference All Year Long" sponsor. 

A new report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities finds that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) spends just $1.35 on average per person per meal for households with children, yet lifts millions of families and their children out of poverty. Here are some other key findings of the report:

• SNAP kept about 10.3 million people out of poverty in 2012, including about 4.9 million children. 
• SNAP helps families put food on the table. Food insecurity — limited access to enough food for an active, healthy life — among children falls by roughly a third after their families receive SNAP benefits for six months. 
• Some evidence suggests that children receiving SNAP are less likely than low-income non-participants to be in fair or poor health or underweight, and their families are less likely to trade off paying for health care and paying for other basic needs, like food, housing, heating, and electricity.
• Children who receive SNAP do better in school. SNAP participation can lead to improvements in reading and mathematics skills among elementary children, especially young girls, and increase the chances of graduating from high school.
• Adults who had access to SNAP as young children reported better health and had lower rates of “metabolic syndrome” (a combined measure of the incidence of obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes), and women who had access to food stamps as young children reported improved economic self-sufficiency (as measured by a combination of employment, income, poverty status, high school graduation, and program participation).

For more information, see the complete report:

SNAP Works for America’s Children 

For 30 years now, Voices for Utah Children has called on our state, federal and local leaders to put children’s needs first. But the work is not done. The children of 30 years ago now have children of their own. Too many of these children are growing up in poverty, without access to healthcare or quality educational opportunities.

How can you be involved?

Make a tax-deductible donation to Voices for Utah Children—or join our Network with a monthly donation of $20 or more.  Network membership includes complimentary admission to Network events with food, socializing, and opportunity to meet child advocacy experts. And don't forget to join our listserv to stay informed!

We look forward to the future of Voices for Utah Children and we hope you will be a part of our next 30 years.

Special thanks to American Express, our "Making a Difference All Year Long" sponsor.