Utah House Republicans considering a 'fallback' Medicaid plan that would fully expand coverage — if federal waivers are rejected

Republican House leaders say they expect to vote Friday on SB96, a bill that replaces Utah’s full Medicaid-expansion initiative with a more restrictive — and initially more costly — plan to provide health-care coverage to low-income residents. But the bill relies on the state receiving a waiver from federal Medicaid administrators, potentially allowing Utah to pay 10 percent of the Medicaid costs for Utahns earning up to 100 percent of the federal poverty level, with the remaining 90 percent paid by the federal government.