Corey Surber, director of state advocacy for St. Alphonsus, is beginning this morning’s presentation to lawmakers from the Close the Gap Coalition, but first she took some time to address some of the claims already made to lawmakers this morning. “So far this morning, you have heard quite a bit to be afraid of, and I think we all recognize we still have a very serious problem ahead of us, that deserves a very well thought-out solution crafted by Idahoans for Idahoans,” she said. “A couple of claims that have been made earlier … I think are not maybe based in fact.”

Among them: She responded to Idaho Freedom Foundation Vice President Fred Birnbaum’s suggestion that the Close the Gap Coalition’s use of five-year estimates of savings for the state were “some sort of a game.” She said, “I will say that five-year cost estimates are the safest to use and the most accurate, and that is why we used them. However, the savings persist over the 10 years, and that data is available.”

She said there was a suggestion that the Medicaid gap consists largely of childless adults. In fact, she said, more than 60 percent have at least one child at home. And she noted “concern we might get stuck on the hook if the feds increase the match rate.” Several states have had provisions approved by federal authorities that say that “if the match rates increase, they can step away and not jeopardize the remainder of their Medicaid program.” Idaho is considering a similar provision. She also cited Birnbaum’s suggestion that expanding Medicaid risks increasing the federal debt. “The CBO does indicate that closing the gap would reduce the federal debt,” Surber said.