Opinion: Medicaid cuts will harm children and education in Utah

Federal and local funding cuts to the Medicaid program, as well as unnecessary eligibility requirements, could cost thousands of Utahns access to continual and preventative healthcare. On the surface, it appears that Medicaid is sometimes viewed as a line item on the budget and a candidate for cutting back to save pennies and offset tax cuts. However, I caution our federal and local representatives to not underestimate the benefits of our social programs, like Medicaid, beyond their budgetary justification.

My mother enrolled in Medicaid for her three children. When I fell sick, she could afford to take me to a doctor and get the medication I needed. Because she had access to the program, I was able to return to school and I was ready to continue my educational success. Without this public health service, it is likely I would have missed more days of school, and my mind would have often been foggy, interfering with my concentration in school. No school resource, excellent teacher, textbook or private school voucher could have overcome these health-related speed bumps. Not only did having access to healthcare through Medicaid benefit my health, but it also facilitated my academic achievement.

My experience with Medicaid is not unique. Any parent knows that children frequently get sick. In addition, the proportion of children enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) range from 8% to 43% across school districts in Utah including 27% and 23% of students within Granite and Salt Lake City School Districts, respectively, and 43% within San Juan School District. While these numbers sound like a health-related budgetary challenge, they also play a significant role in our educational system.

Although logical on face value, substantial data show that sick children underperform and miss more days of school compared to their peers. For example, the National Center for Health Statistics reported that, in 2022, nearly 6% of students nationwide missed 15 or more days of school because of health-related issues; among those students, around 29% had fair to poor health compared to only 5% among healthy students. Additionally, acute and chronic health conditions, as well as risky health behaviors, have been associated with lower school grades. Children have a greater opportunity at succeeding in school when they can take care of their health.

Considering that reading comprehension has dipped, on average, and about 20% of Utah students are considered chronically absent, it is crucial for our decision makers to consider all of the holistic factors that contribute to or impede educational success.

So why is public health insurance important for education?

In 2023, over 50,000 Utahns under 19 years old were uninsured, a figure that will likely increase with cuts to Medicaid. Children without insurance coverage are less likely to receive preventative care and have access to prescriptions compared to their insured peers, even when insured for part of the year. In fact, prior expansions of Medicaid were associated with increases in healthcare utilization and decreases in preventable hospital visits and mortality, as well as increased reading test scores, greater rates of graduating high school and upward economic mobility. Restricting eligibility to Medicaid will have negative consequences, not only on children’s health, but also on their educational journey, undermining our state’s investment in public education.

The relation between Medicaid eligibility, educational attainment, future health and economic success creates an inter-related cycle; one that can lead to more successful and healthier Utah families. In other words, families eligible for Medicaid can care for their children’s health needs and, in turn, these children will have a greater chance of graduating from high school, having higher earnings and being more productive, therefore potentially offsetting the costs of the program.

In Utah, we spend billions of dollars on public education. We should be focused on strengthening all social services that get the most out of our constitutional investment. Medicaid is one of those programs. I encourage our federal and state representatives to see Medicaid as more than a budgetary line item. Instead, view it as an investment in Utah’s education and an investment in our future.