On Tuesday Governor Herbert spoke with reporters about meeting with President Trump and Vice President Pence during the National Governors Association meeting in Washington.
Governor Herbert said that healthcare was one of the major topics of conversation between state leaders and President Trump.
As the President and congressional Republicans consider repealing the Affordable Care Act, Herbert and other governors stressed that immediately replacing the ACA would be just as important as any repeal.
"We’ve got to solve the problem. It’s not a matter of just repealing it, it’s a matter of really what are you going to replace it with?" Herbert said.
Herbert said he stressed the importance of sustainability for Utah’s healthcare system and flexibility for states to customize local health programs if they wind up with less funding from the federal government.
"The states need to have more autonomy in how they can develop their programs. If we had more flexibility, I do believe that Healthy Utah would be what we’re practicing in the state of Utah," he said.
When immigration came up, Governor Herbert said that President Trump clarified his plans on new deportation efforts of undocumented immigrants by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
"He’s talking about people who are gang bangers, people who are robbing banks, knocking over liquor stores – just really bad guys. He says that’s who we’re going to round up and that’s who we’re gonna send home. And he made that very very clear that that’s his focus," Herbert said.
The Governor said he did not have discussions about a potential repeal of the Bears Ears Monument. He said he did meet with officials to discuss the need for a shared responsibility on public lands between states and the federal government.