Outside the Beltway: Utah’s Successes Highlight Federalism’s Benefits

Kathryn Nix /

The Utah State Capitol Building in Salt Lake City

In the past year, the Congressional health care battle has usurped much of the public discourse on health care reform.  In the mean time, Utah has quietly begun implementing its own version of reform, moving its health care system in a more patient-centered, consumer-driven direction.  In a recent paper, Heritage analyst Ed Haislmaier outlines the obstacles Utah has overcome to achieving its objectives of giving “employers, particularly smaller firms, an easier way to offer health benefits to their workers and to provide workers and their families with more coverage choices.”

Haislmaier explains how the Utah reforms are intended to secure the following patient-centered benefits for its residents: (more…)