Health Care and Life Sciences
The Gardner Institute employs a senior health care analyst and a team of economists knowledgeable about Utah’s health care policies and economy. We also benefit from a Health Care Advisory Council that guides our research agenda and supports the development of a health care policy practice area. Our research focus areas include, but are not limited to: (1) analyzing state and national health care trends; (2) collaborating with health care experts and community leaders to analyze relevant health care policy; and (3) conducting research and preparing data on Utah’s health care sector.
Highlighted Research
Access to Suicide Prevention Resources: Understanding Ways to Reach Utah’s Veterans
This research aims to understand how active service members and Veterans access suicide prevention resources in Utah. Expanding this understanding can help improve the Utah Department of Veterans and Military Affairs (UDVMA) suicide prevention reach and outreach strategies.
Maternal Health in Utah: Risk Factors, Workforce Gaps, and Access to Care
Some Utahns face compounding challenges to accessing maternal health care, including long travel distances, limited provider availability, and higher prevalence of risk factors.
Utah/Federal Government Nexus Data Summary: Health Insurance Marketplace
The ACA, signed into law in 2010, established the framework for health insurance marketplaces nationwide. The Marketplace and the accompanying tax credits help make health insurance coverage affordable for Utahns who do not have access to health insurance coverage through work or public health care coverage programs. These include small business owners, their employees, and self-employed workers.
Utah 2025 Peer Support Specialist Workforce Survey
Peer support specialists play a foundational role in Utah’s mental and behavioral health systems. Survey results suggest ways to address challenges related to retention, burnout, and turnover.
Public Policy Lessons From the Michael O. Leavitt Administration: Human Services
As Utah’s population grows and ages, human services require attention upstream and across sectors. Leaders can make sustainable investments in social capital and physical and mental health services.
Utah/Federal Government Nexus Data Summary: Medicaid
Medicaid and CHIP (the Children’s Health Insurance Program) fund health care services for about 353,000 Utahns with low income as of February 2025.
Medicaid Funding 101
Medicaid funding and CHIP (the Children’s Health Insurance Program) fund health care services for about 340,000 low-income Utahns (about 11% of Utah’s population). As a jointly funded state/federal program, funding shares vary by state.
Utah Social Indicators
Utah fares comparatively well on many social indicators. Selected measures come from five domains: economic, demographic, socioeconomic, health, and safety.
Salt Lake County’s Life Sciences and Health Care Innovation Industry
Life sciences and health care innovation plays a vital role in Salt Lake County’s economy, supporting employment, generating earnings, and boosting GDP.
Utah Small Area Diabetes Risk Profiles
The Utah Small Area Diabetes Risk Profiles are based on the Health Improvement Index (HII), 2022, and is a measure of health equity developed by the Utah Department of Health and Human Services. Areas with high and very high HII scores are characterized by social and economic disadvantage.
