"We've been at loggerheads with the traditional legislative process for the last four years," said Matt Slonaker, with Utah Health Policy Project.
That's why advocates for Medicaid expansion, like many others, are hoping to take their cause straight to the voter.
They want to close the coverage gap that tens of thousands of Utahn's are trapped in. Not only do they not have health insurance, they can't get it, because they make too much for Medicaid and not enough to get it on the ACA exchange.
"The most disturbing, and really the sad part here is that I've known two individuals that couldn't access insurance, they were in the coverage gap, and unfortunately they passed away. I don't think that in a state like Utah that should ever happen," said Slonaker.
Slonaker and other advocates say the Utah Decides Healthcare Act of 2018 will change that.
If successful, the initiative will protect state funding for the traditional CHIP and Medicaid programs into the future. It would also establish full Medicaid expansion.
That means all Utahns, who are at, or below 138% of the federal poverty level would be covered. That's an estimated 127,000 people by 2021.
http://www.good4utah.com/news/politics/medicaid-expansion-advocates-file-ballot-initiative/823029875