Advocates Continue Calls for Eyeglass Coverage for the Poor

None by KCPW

(KCPW News) Low-income advocates from Crossroads Urban Center will stage another protest in front of the Governor's Mansion today calling for funding to cover eyeglasses for the poor. A glitch has delayed vision coverage for Medicaid recipients and the legislature has yet to approve ongoing funding for the service.

Judi Hilman of the Utah Health Policy Project says dental and vision services are crucial to saving money in the long run:

"When low-income people don't have the dental and vision services, they delay care," says Hilman. "Then the care becomes more expensive because they end up going to the ER. Or, in the case of vision, they're a danger on the road driving without glasses. So thank goodness the cover put money in his budget for dental coverage. Now we need to get the vision in there."

Governor Huntsman has recommended two-point-eight million dollars of ongoing money from the state's General Fund to restore dental services for Medicaid patients. However, ongoing funding for vision services is not in his budget.

Utah lawmakers have resisted funding those services with ongoing money because they are technically "optional" for states. And lawmakers say Utah's Medicaid spending is growing too rapidly to commit to services that are not part of the core offering.

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