Health Care

Utah Thrives Podcast | Utah’s Progress Report

Written by: Dan Bammes

On June 10, 2026, the Utah Foundation – the State of the Nation Project’s Utah partner – hosted a UTA-sponsored “Utah’s Progress Report” event featuring the Project’s first “State of the States” report. The event highlighted Utah’s extremes using the State of the Nation Project’s reports as a lens. This Utah Thrives podcast is an overview of that event, featuring: Shawn Teigen from the Utah Foundation, delving into comparisons between Utah and other states. Robert … Continued

Utah Thrives Podcast | Healthcare Costs in Utah

Written by: Dan Bammes

This podcast explores the topics of the Utah Foundation’s report, Healthcare Costs for Utahns: A 2026 Update. Dan Bammes narrated the podcast with excerpts from the following guests: Bryn Ramjoue, my529 Shawn Teigen, Utah Foundation Troy Pritchett, University of Utah Health Matthew Slonaker, Utah Health Policy Project Kathryn Macdonald-Poelman, Utah Foundation Brian Monson, Molina Healthcare

Utah Thrives Podcast | Healthcare Price Transparency

Written by: Dan Bammes

Federal law requires hospitals to post the prices of medical and surgical procedures on their websites in the hope that health care consumers will be able to make informed decisions about which providers to go to. The intention was to allow market forces to reduce the cost of health care and to empower patients and their families to make better decisions.   The Utah Foundation has been studying these issues and recently published a report, … Continued

Utah Thrives Podcast | Mental Health in Anxious Times

Written by: Peter Reichard

In this edition of Utah Thrives, Utah Foundation President Peter Reichard talks with Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Brigham Young University; Mark Rapaport, CEO of the Huntsman Mental Health Institute at University of Utah School of Medicine; and Doug Thomas, Director of the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health for the State of Utah.  The conversation is excerpted from a recent Utah Foundation Breakfast Briefing sponsored by the Garbett Family Foundation. Among the questions the group addresses:  … Continued

Op-ed: Is America’s sense of well-being slipping away?

Written by: Peter Reichard

A couple of years back, a mental health professional asked me to sit down with him. He had noticed a big uptick in his teen patients coming in with an acute sense of foreboding. Among the issues that seemed to trouble them most were apocalyptic worries about global climate change ruining their future. But it wasn’t the topic that alarmed the therapist most; it was the growing anxiety. And that was before 2020. That was … Continued

Op-Ed: Addressing the cost of health care is Utahns’ top priority – and a big-time challenge

Written by: Peter Reichard

A little over two decades ago, I learned how lucrative the pharmaceutical industry could be. The father of a friend of mine, who was nearing retirement after a career with a drug company, was discussing how nice their recent company picnic had been. He went on to mention that they brought in a well-known band to play the event. The band? U2. At a company picnic. That’s what giant profit margins can do for you. … Continued

Utah Thrives Podcast | Tackling Health Care Costs

Written by: Peter Reichard

Every four years, as part of our Utah Priorities Project, the Utah Foundation surveys the people of this state to determine their greatest concerns. This information helps drive the priorities of policymakers and civic leaders. In both 2016 and 2020, Utahns told us that their top concern was health care costs and access. The past year in particular has highlighted the great importance of our health care services and infrastructure. But it has also brought forth … Continued

Significant Statistics | Medicaid in the Time of a Pandemic

Written by: Shawn Teigen

Medicaid enrollment increased by 9% from March to May 2019.i (The first phase of Medicaid’s adult expansion started in April 2019, with adults in households up to 100 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) becoming eligible.) Enrollment increases were still modest between January and March 2020 (when eligibility moved to 138% of FPL), perhaps due to a robust economy. However, enrollment increased 8% from March to May 2020 amidst the economic impacts of the … Continued

Significant Statistic | How Utahns View the National Masquerade

Written by: Christopher Collard

While Provo, Utah, made national news in July as the location of a protest against masks, a majority of Utah’s voters think that either the state or businesses should require the use of masks in public. And nearly all Utahns support at least encouraging mask wearing. In early July, we surveyed Utah voters for our Utah Priorities Project. We found that 42% of them think the state should mandate mask wearing in public, while another … Continued

Significant Statistics | One group of Utahns is more likely to contract – but also survive – the coronavirus

Written by: Staff

  HISPANIC/LATINO UTAHNS REPRESENT 14% of the state’s population, but comprise 42% of the coronavirus cases recorded in the state. Conversely, non-Hispanic white Utahns represent 78% of the population, but comprise only 34% of the state’s cases. Thankfully, Utah still has a small number of deaths, but some notable trends are emerging. While Hispanic Utahns are more likely than their non-Hispanic white counterparts to contract the coronavirus, they are substantially less likely to die from … Continued