Can I claim medicaid spend down as the premium for health care coverage?

[lovelyladybug63]

We received emergency medicaid for my c-section and my son's NICU stay in February 2015.  We had the spend down though.  I see on the state tax form (for Utah) there is an option for a Health Insurance Credit.  Since insurance is not an option with my work and we were uninsured because it was too expensive in our area, we qualified for the spend down for medicaid.  We paid the spend down once, which was over $3000.  Can we claim that as paying for individual health care?

[ToddL]

Unfortunately, Medicaid spend down payments do not qualify for Utah's Health Benefit Plan Premiums Tax Credit.

This credit only applies to health benefit plan premiums paid monthly (or annually) to purchase health coverage.

Amounts paid under the Medicaid spend down program are not "premiums", but are payments made by you in order to  meet the income limits to qualify for Medicaid. 

From the Utah Medicaid website:

"To qualify for Medicaid, the person agrees to “spend down” his or her monthly income to the Medicaid income standard. The person has a choice of how to pay the amount above the Medicaid income limit. The person may choose to either pay “excess” monthly income to the state or to pay a medical provider for one or more medical bills."