Health Care

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

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

Significant Statistics | 40% of Utahns Delaying Health Care

Written by: Staff

NEW CENSUS DATA SHOW that massive numbers of Utahns have been delaying health treatment. As of June 2, 2020, an estimated 830,000 Utah adults reported having delayed getting medical care in the previous four weeks because of the coronavirus pandemic. That represents 40% of the adult population of the state. This is in line with national numbers, with 41% of U.S. adults reporting a delay of medical care.[1] This finding is supported by accounts from … Continued

Utah Thrives: Mental Health & Suicide Prevention

Written by: Dan Bammes

A recent Utah Foundation breakfast event on access to mental health services and suicide prevention brought up a little good news: Utah’s suicide rate isn’t rising as fast as it has in the past two decades. And professionals who treat those at risk for suicide say their interventions can work very well if they reach people in time. But there are still many challenges, including providing access to psychiatric care in Utah’s rural areas. In … Continued