Pete Suazo Utah Athletic Commission

Utah Health Exchange

Pete Suazo Utah Athletic Commission

Increased Portability. As more employers choose to offer health benefits on a defined contribution basis via the Exchange, increasing numbers of workers will be able to take their coverage with them from job to job. Increased portability means greater continuity of care and a reduction in the number of uninsured.

Premium Aggregation. One feature completely unique to the Utah Health Exchange will allow for premium aggregation from multiple sources (for example, premiums from multiple employers for an individual, from multiple employers for different family members, or from state premium assistance programs) for a single policy. This feature represents a significant gain in efficiency.

Quality and Value. By statute, all plans offered through the Exchange must meet federal standards for employer-sponsored coverage; thus, participating employers and their workers can be confident the insurance they choose will be quality coverage from responsible carriers. Furthermore, it is expected the element of consumer choice in this market will put downward pressure on prices and while simultaneous putting upward pressure on quality. This combination constitutes the most effective means whereby consumers may maximize value in their health coverage.

The Pete Suazo Utah Athletic Commission (PSUAC) was established under the Utah Professional Athletic Commission Act 63C-11 which became law in July 2001. The fiver-member Commission, appointed by the Governor and Legislature, regulates professional boxing and other amateur and professional unarmed combat sports including boxing, kickboxing and mixed martial arts. Promoters, managers, contestants, seconds, referees and judges are licensed under the Act and subsequent statute revisions and rules. Fees are intended to cover cost of protecting the health and welfare of contestants and regulating events within the State.

The commission is named after the late Utah State Senator Eliud “Pete” Suazo. Pete Suazo was an advocate for youth and minorities in the state and a boxing enthusiast. More information about Senator Suazo’s life can be found in the article “La Voz de los Otros”: An Overview of the Life and Career of Eliud “Pete” Suazo, Utah’s First Hispanic State Senator, 1951-2001, written by Jorge Iber and published in the Spring 2008 Utah Historical Quarterly.

The PSUAC regulates and oversees about 70 unarmed combat events per year. Attendance at these events varies from about 100 spectators to over 5,000 spectators attending large events. With the dramatic increase in popularity of mixed martial arts, the commission is seeing an increase in number of promoters, events, contestants and other licensees. Over the past two years, we are seeing many more events in communities outside the Wasatch Front.

During the past year, Mark Burnett Productions has filmed two seasons of its popular “Bully Beat Down” reality television show that is broadcast on the MTV cable network and provided support to local film production businesses in Utah.