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Show hoped that this provision would raise $2,000,000 to help pay for primary care. However, that provision was also removed from the bill shortly after it was introduced. Representative Evans hoped to find additional money elsewhere to fund the program. Other provisions of the bill were also modified before it was introduced. The requirements for community rating, continuity of coverage, and coverage to age 26 were dropped. After additional review and analysis of these provisions, the sponsors decided that these changes needed further study. The sponsors, acting on advice from task force staff, realized that community rating would not be effective without additional requirements for guaranteed renewability and limitations on annual increases in premiums. Because newly elected Governor Leavitt had promised to form his own health care study task force, they decided to refer this issue to that group for further study. HB 130 finally passed the Legislature after considerable debate between the Senate and House of Representatives regarding coverage for dependents up to age 26. The Senate wanted coverage to age 26, the House of Representatives wanted no provision. A compromise was reached on the last night of the session lowering the coverage requirement to age 22. The Legislature also granted Governor Leavitt's request to form a "decision jury" to further debate and refine health care reform proposals. The Legislature enacted HB 67, sponsored by Representative Brent Haymond. As originally proposed by the task force and introduced by Representative Haymond, HB 67 created a task force to consider, among other proposals, the Utah Health Access Program (UHAP). The plan was developed by a subcommittee of the task force chaired by Representative Haymond and Robert Huefner, the director of the FHP Center for Health Care Studies at the University of Utah. UHAP proposed a major overhaul of the health care delivery and financing system. Under the plan, every family or individual in the state would receive a voucher that would entitle them to purchase a basic health care package. The package could be offered by insurance companies or an employer's self-insured plan. The insurance carrier would be required to enroll any person or family that requested coverage. Once the governor expressed his desire to create his own task force, however, HB 67 was modified to accommodate his plans. The bill creates the Health Care Policy Option Commission, and directs it to develop and submit to the governor various options for health care reform proposals. The governor may then submit these proposals to the Legislature or to the public in a non-binding referendum. A unique feature of this commission is that all recommendations must be by consensus and that no member of the commission may be "involved with the delivery, administration, financing or insuring of health care." The Governor, or his designee, will serve as a non-voting chair and "facilitator" of the commission. A final bill introduced during the 1993 General Session was SB 110, "Increasing Access to Health Care." Sponsored by Senator John Holmgren, this bill was considered, but not adopted by the Access to Health Care Task Force. Some of the provisions of SB 110 were also contained in HB 130. Many of the provisions had identical language. However, the task force was not comfortable in adopting the Medicaid expansion, small group health insurance reform, and tort reform was needed. SB 110 passed the Senate, but was never considered by the House of Representatives. Private Sector Reports Recommendations for a Utah Health Access Program-Utah Health Care Access Steering Committee The Utah Health Care Access Steering Committee is a voluntary organization of health care providers, insurers, and members of the public who are concerned about health care access, cost, and quality. Its membership list reads like a "Who's Who" in health care in Utah. In 1991, the committee was chaired by Michael "J" 108 HEALTH CARE REFORM |