THE "ABLE-BODIED" AND THE TRUTH

by Paul Gibbs

On November 11, 2014, the Deseret News  ran an article called a Florida Group Targets Healthy Utah Medicaid Expansion Alternative, about the the Florida based Foundation For Government Accountability's campaign. I have no issue with article, which fairly reported a newsworthy story  and gave the good people at Utah Health Policy Project a chance to offer a rebuttal. But I have a big problem with the the things FGA says in the article, which quotes them as telling Gov. Herbert not to bring "D.C. values" to Utah, and charging that Healthy Utah puts "able-bodied people" on government assistance. 

What do these people know about "Utah values"? They  haven't been to Utah and have done nothing to learn about the actual people involved in this. I have lived in Utah since i was 1 year old, and as an activist and as a citizen I have spent a lot of time learning about and being with these people, in Utah and in other states. So called "able-bodied" people like:

STACY STANFORD

Who is in a wheelchair because of a neuro-degenerative condition caused by a car accident, and yet still runs her own small business, and goes to college on a scholarship and is about to start offering tutoring services to help keep up her cognitive function.

CHARLOTTE LAWRENCE

Who works 3 jops  are working 3 jobs while struggling with multiple types of cancer and trying to raise children.

RICK GELINO

Who  spent a lifetime working and serving his country as a Marine in Vietnam. and then couldn''t get coverage for his wife spouse when she had a stroke.

TERINDA FURMAN

A Flordia woman who suffers from lupus and kidney failure, and many other issues.

PATTIE MEGAN

A North Carolina woman who lost her insurance and suffers from cancer.

MELANIE SOULES

Who has two children and lost her job as CEO of a company because of illness.

And another gentleman I go to church with (he hasn't done any media and I don't feel comfortable using his name without him giving anyone permission to put his story out there) who worked as a security guard, but lost that job due to suffering from liver failure. He can't work at all now and has been bankrupted by medical bills. 

These are all people who are in or effected by the coverage gap. And they are just seven of many examples  They are not "able-bodied" people looking for a handout. In all my searching and experience which has taken me across the country I haven't run into anybody like that who is looking for help from Healthy Utah or Medicaid expansion. Do they exist? Probably. Are they the majority? No. And that's not just my experience or my emotions talking, it's the facts/ 

 I've studied the numbers and research, and learned froma  study by the University of Utah that 66% of the people in the gap already work, and another 15% are disabled or otherwise unable to work. For groups like the FGA or the Sutherland Institute this to claim some sort of moral high ground while denying the most basic needs of human beings who are suffering is evil. I realize that's a harsh word, and I don't use it lightly. I'm not saying these are mustache twirling villains who are tying women to railroad tracks. Evil doesn't work that way in the real world. Most of the time, evil takes the form of selfish concerns overcoming basic decency and empathy. And sometimes it take the form of putting loyalty to ideology ahead of clear evidence of suffering people in need. And this most definitely qualifies as such a situation.

If you want the real facts, go to a legitimate organization like Utah Health Policy Project, or even a nobody like me who isn't an expert and doesn't work for a "think tank" but actually thinks experience and facts matter and bothers to accumulate them. And who is willing to listen to and consider things which challenge my own ideas. For example: I adamantly opposed Healthy Utah at first, because it wasn't the straight up Medicaid expansion I was fighting for, and because it came from a Governor and didn't (and still don't) like. But I listened and learned the facts, and became convinced that it's the best option with a chance of passing.

When I went to Florida to fight for their expansion, I met with actually people who are effected by this and learned about what they're going through. I have publicly challenged the FGA to make the journey in reverse, and come from Florida to Utah. Will they do it? I doubt it. 

The FGA cares nothing about Utah, and they aren't experts in anything, they're just ideologues who want to promote an ideology and agenda no matter who it hurts.

Watch the new video segment: Entitled to Life: UTAH VALUES