House Oks Fund For Medical Bills

After years of battling about it, the Idaho House has quietly approved a law requiring the state to pay big medical bills run up by low-income people.

With just a brief debate on Tuesday, the House voted 66-1 and sent to the Senate legislation obligating the state to make so-called “cat” fund payments.

The law has been on the books since 1991 but never used. Former Gov. Cecil Andrus refused to approve funding because the Legislature would not approve a program designed to provide medical coverage for working poor people.

But new GOP Gov. Phil Batt has called for full funding of the program, and the House started that process on Tuesday.

“This is a subject often revisited here in the House; hopefully we are getting to the end of this,” said Rep. Thomas Loertscher, R-Idaho Falls.

“This reaffirms the Legislature’s position that this is the responsibility of the state,” he said.

The Catastrophic Care Fund covers medical expenses for indigents. Counties historically have borne the entire burden. The legislation sets up a fund so counties pay the first $10,000 of any bill, while the state is obligated to pay the rest.

The only dissenter was Rep. Kathleen Gurnsey, R-Boise, chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee.

The legislation would require the state to pay $11 million in pending medical claims and then provide about $7.5 million per year.

Gurnsey said she supported Batt’s recommendation that the county portion be raised to $15,000, which budget officials said would save the state about $2 million per year.