By McKenzie Romero | Editor
When Congressional Republicans passed the “big, beautiful bill,” the legislation slashed funding and put in place work requirements for Medicaid, the publicly funded program that provides health coverage to low-income Americans.
Now, with those cuts fast approaching and even more verification hurdles being added to the process, a substitute teacher, a mother who faced blindness, and a child welfare advocate are among the Utahns raising the alarm about the impending Medicaid reductions.
In today’s Dispatch we hear from advocates who fear what will happen to Utahns about to lose their health insurance, what led to a string of kratom overdoses in the state, and outcry after 11 wild horses died in a federal roundup.
“I’m not a statistic. I’m a person who kept my eyesight because Medicaid was there, appointment after appointment for years. I’m asking you to think about who is on the other end of these cuts.” — Brenda Oluwalana, a Utah mother who got treatment through Medicaid after suffering torn retinas.
Lorena Horse, CEO of Sacred Circle Healthcare, speaks during a news conference held by the Protect Medicaid Utah Coalition at Sacred Circle Healthcare’s offices in Salt Lake City on July 30, 2026. (Katie McKellar/Utah News Dispatch)
By Katie McKellar
Advocates in Utah worry new Medicaid requirements — including eligibility checks every six months and proof of employment paperwork — will inevitably result in lost coverage, even for those who should be eligible, because of the new administrative burdens.
At the same time, federal officials have refused to renew a unique Utah Medicaid program. The Targeted Adult Medicaid Program, known as TAM, has provided 12 months of continuous Medicaid coverage for Utah adults earning up to 5% of the federal poverty level who are chronically homeless, involved in the justice system or need substance abuse or mental health treatment.
Buzzers Cat’s Claw tablet packets. (Photo courtesy of Utah Department of Agriculture and Food)
By Alixel Cabrera
A product labeled as cat’s claw — a woody vine considered to be a safe supplement promoted to treat joint pain and other conditions — is being removed from Utah shelves as Utah officials investigate a recent death and several severe health incidents that may be linked to it.
According to the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food and the Utah Poison Control Center, multiple flavors of Buzzers’ cat’s claw tablets were found to contain kratom alkaloids, a recently mostly-banned substance in the state that can have opioid-like effects.
Wild horses in a holding pen after a July BLM roundup. (Photo courtesy of Scott Henderson for Lady Freethinker)
NEVADA CURRENT
By Leilah Ortega
A helicopter roundup conducted by the Bureau of Land Management in central Nevada this month killed 11 horses. The goal was to capture approximately 2,000 wild horses and transport them to long-term holding facilities, never to be released back into the wild, according to the BLM.
Return to Freedom, a wild horse conservation group, reported that the cause of the fatalities included a head injury, a broken neck, a broken leg, and horses put down for “chronic” conditions. Three of the fatalities are currently undiagnosed.
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