A CHANCE TO BE HEARD

by Paul Gibbs

On July 17, at 9am, the Utah Health Reform Task Force will hold its July meeting. Much of the focus for this month will be on Medicaid expansion/Healthy Utah issue, and this will include showing a 7 minute segment of Entitled To Life, which I will introduce. I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity to represent the people in the coverage gap and make their voices heard. After all, that's what all of this is about.

At the same time, I'm quite nervous about the experience. In 25 years of presenting various works to audiences (starting when I was kid doing live theatre and making films with stuffed animals), I've never faced an audience anywhere near this tough. While some members of the task force (Rebecca Chavez-Houck, Gene Davis and Peter Knudson, for example) support Healthy Utah, others such as Mike Kennedy and co-chairman Allen Christensen are firmly opposed to it. At the May meeting Christensen even questioned whether there really are people in the coverage gap and asserted that there are other places needy people can go for coverage (which is true for some aspects of basic coverage, but not for specialty care and other necessary aspects of medical care. You can't get an MRI or a surgery at a free clinic). You may think they've heard all of this again and again. The truth is, they've chosen not to. We need to make them hear.


I need help to do this. Words of encouragement and such are much appreciated, but what is really needed is people at the meeting who support the cause. Otherwise I'm easily dismissed as just a rabble-rousing liberal filmmaker who doesn't need to be taken seriously. For the many people who offered to help however they can, this is how you can help, and this is when we need you. Making our statement to the task force and letting them know Utah wants a special legislative session to decide this would be a major victory. A victory that 57,000 people in the coverage gap desperately need.

The meeting will be on Thursday, July 17 at 9am at the State Capitol, Room 30 of the House Building. Please be there if you can.