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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Edit: Idaho practices death by poverty

Idaho is not without a heart. That seems to be the message Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter's administration is sending in response to Jenny Steinke's death. Earlier this year, the 36-year-old Idaho Falls woman died from complications of asthma. For anyone with health insurance, that's a treatable condition. But Steinke was a member of Idaho's Medicaid Gap, the group of 78,000 low-income Idaho adults who earn too little to qualify for subsidized health insurance under Obamacare. So she put off getting help until an episode left her gasping for air. By the time Steinke reached the hospital, she had stopped breathing. It was, Jenny's mother-in-law Clella Steinke said, "death by poverty"/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.



D.F. Oliveria
D.F. (Dave) Oliveria joined The Spokesman-Review in 1984. He currently is a columnist and compiles the Huckleberries Online blog and writes about North Idaho in his Huckleberries column.

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