Panel OKs bill letting Utah opt out of health reform - Salt Lake Tribune

Panel OKs bill letting Utah opt out of health reform - Salt Lake Tribune: "Fueled by a deep mistrust of the federal government and Tea Party fervor, a House committee approved a bill Tuesday aimed at enabling Utah to opt out of national health-reform efforts.

Rep. Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman, founder of the legislative Patrick Henry Caucus, which focuses on state sovereignty, said the measures being contemplated by Congress infringe on states' rights and threaten progress Utah has made in trying to reform health coverage.

Wimmer's bill would require the Utah Legislature to pass legislation to enact any piece of health reform passed by Congress.

It buys the state at least a year, Wimmer said, to decide if Utah should amend its constitution 'to protect people and their health-care rights.'

Wimmer said 30 other states are considering similar legislation, including some trying to amend their state constitutions.

'We need a law on the books quickly,' he said.

But Judi Hillman, executive director of the Utah Health Policy Project, called it an 'irresponsible and very destructive bill' that could cost the state all of the Medicaid money it receives from the federal government.

'When you lose all of your Medicaid dollars, you will see a complete unraveling of our health care safety net,' she said. 'We're playing with fire here.'"