Utah Individual and Family Health Insurance

Inspect the strengths and weaknesses of various Utah health insurance plans throughout the state, including the metropolitan areas of Salt Lake City, West Valley City, Provo, West Jordan, Orem, Sandy Hills, Sandy City, Ogden, Layton, and Saint George.

The State of Affairs of Utah’s Health Insurance

The State of Utah, in 2004, spent 9.6 billion dollars on healthcare expenditure, with the most funds expensed from hospital care, as well as physician and professional services.  Utahans face healthcare expenses that rise at an annual rate of 8%, making finding affordable Utah health insurance plans critical. 

The Beehive State is called home by over 2.5 million residents.  17% of the population enjoys Medicaid and/or Medicare coverage.  Approximately 59% or 1.5 million secure their small business Utah healthcare through their employers, and on average, the employees pay premiums of $847 for individual health insurance coverage and $2,634 for family health insurance plans.

With rising unemployment rates, having an employer-based health insurance may not be the best family health insurance plan. Circumstances can change very rapidly.  Families may want to consider the stability of a Utah health insurance plan that is obtained from the individual market, especially considering that these plans might also be more affordable. As your health insurance agent, InsureMonkey is prepared to help you find the Utah health insurance plan that is suited for your family’s needs and budget. 

Utah Health Insurance Providers

Utah’s High Risk Pool

In Utah, the high-risk pool program is called Utah Comprehensive Health Insurance Pool or HIPUtah. It was created in 1991 and currently being administered by Select Health, a health insurance company. This high-risk pool program typically offers $1 million lifetime benefit or $250,000 annual benefit.

To find more information about this program, visit the Select Health website at www.selecthealth.org or call any of these numbers: 801-442-6660, 800-705-9173, 1-800-538-5038, and 801-442-5038. To apply, the first step is to download and print an application from this link. http://selecthealth.org/Static/Files/hiputahapplication.pdf. After completing the application form, it should be mailed, together with other required documents (e.g. medical records), to this address:

HIPUtah
c/o SelectHealth
P.O. Box 30192
Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0192

Utah’s Uninsured

According to the 2006-2007 survey by the Urban Institute and the Kaiser Commission, the uninsured population in Utah totals more than 391,000. About 29% of this population, or 113,000, consists of uninsured children. One in four children doesn’t have health coverage. These numbers made Utah the 10th worst of states in terms of uninsured children.

Ironically, most of these uninsured children live in working families, in which employer-based Utah health insurance plans should be available. However, these health plans, regrettably, have prohibitively expensive premiums – prompting low-wage workers to take their chances and not buy an employer-based health insurance coverage.

The good news is that affordable health plans can be obtained outside of work. There are also several state-sponsored programs for the people of Utah.  InsureMonkey will make it easier to locate and understand these programs.

Utah SCHIP

The CHIP or Children’s Health Insurance Program in Utah is for children who are younger than 19 and are citizens or legal residents. Eligible children should not be covered by other publicly funded health insurance plans. And these children should be living with families who meet the income requirements of Utah’s CHIP.

Income eligibility requirements for CHIP coverage may depend on the size of the family. But for a family of three, the parents must have a total household income that falls between 100% and 200% of the Federal Poverty Level as of January 2009. This translates to an annual income between $17,600 and $35,200.

The Utah Department of Health reported that, as of February 2009, the Utah CHIP has provided insurance for 36,145 children. For more information, please contact the Utah CHIP at http://www.utahchip.org/. Enrolment for this program is still open. Applying for CHIP can be done in four different ways:

1.    Online application at Utah Clicks at https://utahclicks.org/uas/content/login/?app=417
2.    Download and print an application from the official website. After completing the form, it can be mailed to P.O. Box 143245 Salt Lake City, UT 84114-3245
3.    Personally visit a local eligibility office
4.    Call the Hotline at 1-877-543-7669

Medicaid in Utah

The State of Utah has several public health insurance programs for its citizens.  Medicaid is just one the programs that is being managed by the Department of Health. Medicaid benefits are given to citizens who belong to one of these six identified categories:

1.    Persons aged 65 or older
2.    Persons who are legally disabled or blind
3.    Pregnant women
4.    Children under the age of 18
5.    Parent or caretaker of a child aged 18 and younger
6.    Women with breast or cervical cancer.

If a Utah citizen does not belong to any of the above categories, he or she can still seek State assistance through the Primary Care Network Program.

There are also income eligibility requirements to obtain Medicaid benefits:

•    Children
      o    Infants Ages 0-1:  $23,408 or 133% of the Federal Poverty Level as of January 2009
      o    Children Ages 1-5:  $23,408 or 133% of the Federal Poverty Level as of January 2009
      o    Children Ages 6-19:  $17,600 or 100% of the Federal Poverty Level as of January 2009
•    Parents
      o    Non-Working:  $6,996 or 40% of the Federal Poverty Level as of January 2009
      o    Working:  $11,928 or 68% of the Federal Poverty Level as of January 2009
•    Women
      o    Pregnant women: $26,400 or 150% of the Federal Poverty Level as of January 2009
      o    Women with breast and/or cervical cancer/pre-cancer: 250% of the Federal Poverty Level as of January 2009

For more information about the Medicaid Program in Utah, visit the Department of Health website at http://www.health.utah.gov/medicaid/index.html or contact the toll-free number 1-800-662-9651, if calling from Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada. If calling from other states, the number to contact is 1-801-538-6155. To apply for Medicaid, contact the local office of the Department of Workforce Services or call any of these numbers: 801-526-4390 or 1-800-331-4341.

(Facts throughout this page provided by the Kaiser Family Foundation at www.statehealthfacts.org and by The New Health Insurance Solution at www.tnhis.com.  Commentary provided by InsureMonkey.)

State Resources

Department of Health
Website: http://health.utah.gov/
Phone: (801) 538-6689

Utah Premium Partnership for Health Insurance
Website: http://health.utah.gov/upp/
Phone: 1-888-222-2542

Department of Human Services
Website: http://www.dhs.utah.gov/
Phone: (801) 538-3991