Cory  Surber, representing the Close the Gap Coalition, told lawmakers, “It’s a very broad-based coalition of a couple hundred organizations, including health care providers, nonprofits, community advocacy groups who are in favor of a complete solution to the coverage gap.” She detailed the four years of study by two work groups appointed by Gov. Butch Otter, and their conclusion that Idaho needs to redesign its Medicaid program and tap federal Medicaid expansion funds to help it do so.

“We know that there is a cost of doing nothing here,” Surber said. “It’s costly in terms of lives. It is true that people delay seeking care, they avoid seeking care because they don’t have the access that they need, and people die unnecessarily as a result. We know that taxpayer dollars are being spent inefficiently, and that our federal tax dollars are going elsewhere and not being used for the benefit of Idaho’s citizens.”

After four years of study, she said, “We have a better understanding of what our gaps in delivery are. … We have gathered data and research. ... And we have before us now the opportunity to put in place an Idaho solution that integrates with the SHIP model and yes, gets 1.6 million Idahoans in a transformed system of care that is not bifurcated and inefficient.”

She added, “Charity care in Idaho is strong. We have a robust charity care system in our state. It’s not that it doesn’t exist today and doesn’t have the potential to grow. But it is at maximum capacity for the patients that we see. … It does not meet the needs of the gap population.”