THE HIGH COST OF WAITING

by Paul Gibbs

"How much of human life is lost in waiting?" Ralph Waldo Emerson's question takes on new meaning when viewed through the lens of the Healthy Utah/Medicaid expansion debate. Human lives are being lost because Utah legislators insist on delaying action.

On Tuesday June 4, 2014, at the premiere screening of Entitled To Life, Dr. Raymond Ward (now a GOP House Member from Bountiful) announced that Emily Young, one of the patients he spoke of in the film, had passed away. Emily was 43 years old and had not been able to receive the need treatment for breast cancer because she was uninsured. Emily would have been covered by either straight Medicaid expansion or Healthy Utah.

On Wednesday, July 15, 2015, Rep. Ward informed Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes that Carol Frisby, a colon cancer patient Hughes had met with, had passed away, also unable to receive the care she needed.  The fact that we're still experiencing exactly the same problem over a year later is not only heartbreaking, it perfectly illustrates the cruelty of the continual delays which seem to actually be embraced both by Hughes and House Majority Leader Jim Dunnigan. While Dunnigan keeps asking Utahns for patience and saying it's good to have some time, innocent people are dying simply because they have low incomes. And while Emily and Carol put a human gace on the issue, they're far from alone. Harvard Medical School estimates that 316 Utahns per year will die due to lack of coverage without medicaid expansion or Healthy Utah. Considering this debate has drug on for three years, that means that as many as 948 people have have died while it stretches out. If we really are forced to wait until the 2016 legislative session, as now seems a distinct possibility, then it is statistically likely that well over 1,000 people will have died because we waited. It's unthinkable that legisators can live with that figure, but apparently they can. While UtahPolcy.com's account indicated that Hughes was disturbed by the news of Carol Frisby's death, I hold out little hope that it will mark a significant change in his or Dunnigan's approach. They and every other legislator are (or at least should be) aware of the real human faces of the coverage gap. I know this because I'm one of the many people who has brought those faces to them. At this point it would take considerable effort to avoid knowing, though likely some legislators have gone to that effort. I mam quite sure Speaker Hughes is legitmately upset by this tragedy. As I've said many times before, I believe the opposition to Healthy Utah is guilty more of denial than heartlessness. And perhaps this will illustrate the problem in a personal way which makes an impact. But no matter what the reason for the delay, no matter what the motivations of the people who are delaying, the undeniable fact is that people in Utah are dying because the aren't getting the medical care they need. That cost is far too high.


Read Rep. Ward's Deseret News Op-ed