AI-generated summary, not yet reviewed by Better Utah staff. Please consult the bill text.

This bill would create a new state-run health care program called "Utah Cares" to replace Utah's current patchwork of public coverage, including Medicaid and the Public Employees' Benefit and Insurance Program (PEHP, which covers state and many local government workers). A new seven-member Utah Health Services Commission would design and run the program, oversee its budget, resolve disputes between patients and providers, and take over health workforce offices currently housed in the Department of Health and Human Services. Utah residents would be allowed to enroll in the program, government employers would be required to transition their employees into it, and hospitals and other health care facilities would eventually be required to route billing through the program rather than billing patients directly once new licensing rules take effect in November 2030. The bill also creates a new "Utah Cares Trust Fund" and a new state health care tax to pay for the program, and directs the state to seek federal approval to shift Medicaid funding and administration into this same system over time.