Medicaid funding increase blocked
BOISE – Lawmakers frustrated with out-of-control Medicaid expenses on Thursday blocked an attempt to pump another $15 million into the program for the poor and disabled, hoping to hold the money hostage until reforms are enacted.
The vote to bar the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee from adding the emergency money to this year’s $229 million Medicaid budget surprised the 20-member panel, the majority of whom had voted to add the money. The 13-7 vote was one shy of the two-thirds majority needed for what is typically a routine procedural maneuver, to reopen the current year’s budget for changes.
A similar attempt to block additional spending on state prisons failed. Some legislators, mostly Democrats, had argued that state sentencing laws should be scrutinized before another $4.4 million is dished out to prisons.
Sen. Brent Hill, R-Rexburg, led the charge against more money for Medicaid, lamenting the program’s drain on the state’s $2 billion budget.
“Because of the increase in the Medicaid budget, we are taking from child protection, substance abuse, domestic violence, education – from all of these other programs,” Hill said.
Legislators in nearly every state blame Medicaid for budget stresses. Idaho’s Medicaid spending has grown 935 percent since 1990.
But Rep. Margaret Henbest, D-Boise, said while lawmakers struggle to find solutions, they shouldn’t just cut off the program’s funding.
“These are people who are in need of health care services and can’t receive it (or) pay for it themselves,” she said.
Joining Hill in voting to block the additional cash were Reps. Dick Harwood of St. Maries, Cliff Bayer of Boise and Scott Bedke of Oakley; and Sens. Gerry Sweet of Meridian, Monty Pearce of New Plymouth and Dean Cameron of Rupert.
Hill left open the possibility that he would rescind his objection if he sees that lawmakers are making an effort to reform the program.
Health and Welfare Director Karl Kurtz said he has limited options if lawmakers don’t provide cash to pay bills for the rest of the year.
“One is you just tell the providers that they cannot accept new patients. The other thing is you just don’t pay providers. When we run out of money we quit,” Kurtz said.
Committee members wouldn’t even entertain a similar spending freeze for the Department of Correction budget when Henbest tried to apply the same reform logic used to block the Medicaid money.
Henbest said the state should be focusing on treatment programs instead of filling cells.
“We continue to feed the pipeline,” Henbest said. “I’m putting my foot down.”
Sen. Shawn Keough of Sandpoint and Rep. Kathy Skippen of Emmett were the only Republicans to join the committee’s four Democrats on the vote to keep the prison budget from being considered. The panel then voted unanimously to give the agency $4.4 million to pay for additional inmate beds and medical costs for the current budget year.