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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Lawmakers’ ideas include expanding traditional Medicaid for certain populations, or a primary-care program…

Among the ideas members of the Legislature’s working group on the health coverage gap have thrown out this morning for possible inclusion in their final report to the Legislature: Expanding the current, traditional Medicaid program, at the existing 70-30 federal match, to include additional populations, including parolees (which Health & Welfare Director Dick Armstrong already is proposing), the mentally ill, and possibly people with disabilities who are not now covered by Medicaid, and tapping the Millennium Fund, which comes from tobacco settlement money, to cover the state match. Providing primary care to a portion of the gap population solely with state funds. Keeping Medicaid expansion on the table in case it still might be possible.

“I don’t think we ought to use the last election results to not do anything,” said Rep. Fred Wood, R-Burley, the last remaining physician in the Idaho Legislature.

Sen. Marv Hagedorn, R-Meridian, said, “My recommendation would be that we lean towards an Idaho solution for this population, and it can’t be comprehensive, because I don’t think we can afford that. But I think we should do what we can for at least some of that population, if not all of that population, and target primary care.”

Rep. John VanderWoude, R-Nampa, said, “My vision of what may happen at the federal level is some type of block grants instead of all the restrictions. So I would encourage us to set the foundation for that as we move forward.”



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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