The Utah Department of Health yesterday (Monday) received approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – or CMS - to implement full Medicaid expansion in the state. This comes more than a year after Utah voters approved expanded Medicaid.
The expansion will extend Medicaid eligibility to Utah adults whose annual income is up to 138% of the federal poverty level – that’s $16,753 a year for an individual or $34,638 for a family of four. The federal government will cover 90% of the costs of these services, with the state picking up the remaining 10%.
Enrollment and coverage for the newly eligible individuals will begin on January 1st.
Monday’s action, along with a smaller-scale expansion implemented last April, means up to 120,000 Utah adults who didn’t qualify for Medicaid at the beginning of 2019 will qualify now
Some newly eligible adults will be required to participate in a self-sufficiency requirement in order to receive benefits. Exemptions from the requirement are awarded for anyone who meets one of 13 exemption criteria, including those who are age 60 or older, pregnant, caring for young children, working at least 30 hours a week or students.
Those who are subject to the self-sufficiency requirement will need to complete an online job assessment, online training programs, and 48 job searches within the first three months of eligibility. Failure to complete this process will result in termination of benefits.
To be eligible for the new program, individuals must be a Utah resident between the ages of 19 and 64, be a U.S. citizen or legal resident, and meet income requirements. Information on how to apply for Medicaid can be found here: https://medicaid.utah.gov/apply-medicaid.
Applications are accepted online, over the phone, or by mail.
