Health
Utah Democrats seek solutions to the ongoing healthcare crisis. No person should be denied access to basic and adequate health care. It is unacceptable that the number of people without health insurance in Utah continues to rise. Utah Democrats support comprehensive, equitable, and affordable health care coverage for everyone and individual states’ rights to innovate. Sufficient money is already within the health care system to pay for universal coverage. In order to eliminate waste in our fragmented system, a comprehensive health care fund is required to reduce administrative costs dramatically. Such a comprehensive health care reform would make Utah businesses more competitive and would attract new businesses to Utah, stimulating our state’s economy in the process while guaranteeing every Utahn insurance and choice of medical provider. Public health systems need to be adequately prepared to act against threats to our health from bio-terrorism, infectious diseases, infrastructure breakdown, and decreased funding for health research. Utah Democrats know that tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in our nation. It takes a tremendous toll on the economic and emotional well-being of families. Therefore, Utah Democrats believe that we should have used the proceeds from the historic tobacco company settlement for the purposes for which they were intended: to reimburse the state for previous tobacco-related spending on general health care programs, and to enhance those programs dealing with preventing and treating addiction. Utah Democrats will work to make public health policy more supportive of women during their childbearing years and their families and help people to have and raise children under the best possible circumstances. Utah Democrats believe in a comprehensive approach that protects reproductive freedom while fostering personal responsibility and education for thoughtful and moral decisions about sexuality, childbearing, adoption, and parenting.