Regional study sees ‘health gap’

Boise More and more people in the Northwest are falling into a widening “health gap” of those who either lack health insurance or are underinsured, according to a study released Thursday by the Northwest Federation of Community Organizations.

The federation looked at Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Montana, and concluded that lawmakers in all four states should increase efforts to expand public insurance programs, improve oversight of private insurance, and work on ways to prevent more employers from dropping health coverage. The gap the study identified falls between the poorest people who qualify for full government health coverage, and those at the other end of the spectrum, whose coverage is comprehensive. It includes those with no insurance, and those who either purchase their own insurance or get it from their jobs, but with more out-of-pocket costs than they can cover.

“People may be in the health gap without realizing it,” said Osulei Knudson of the Idaho Community Action Agency, a member group of the federation. “People with health insurance often don’t realize that they’re underinsured – until deductibles and cost sharing eat up their savings and even force them into bankruptcy.”

The study found that the gap is widening because fewer employers offer comprehensive health benefits; premiums, co-pays, and other out-of-pocket costs are rising; and more people are working for small employers who are less able to offer health coverage.

The entire four-state study is posted on the Internet at www.nwfco.org/2005-0616 _health_gap.pdf. It includes an array of stories from people in the four states about their struggles with health insurance issues.

Separate I-90 crashes put three in hospital

Three people were hospitalized after their vehicles rolled on Interstate 90 in two separate crashes late Wednesday and early Thursday, the Washington State Patrol reported.

The most serious injuries occurred when two people were ejected from a westbound Chevrolet station wagon that rolled about 5:50 a.m. Thursday on Interstate 90 near Fishtrap. The car rolled after it had left the roadway and the driver overcorrected, WSP said.

Two passengers in the car, Robert Epperson, 32, and Miranda Zitting, 22, were taken by helicopter to Sacred Heart Medical Center. Epperson, of Lake Stevens, Wash., and Zitting, of Spokane, were listed in critical condition Thursday afternoon.

WSP was not certain which occupant was driving or if either was wearing a seat belt. The crash remains under investigation.

About eight hours earlier, an eastbound Ford Expedition rolled when the driver swerved to avoid a deer Wednesday evening near the state Highway 904 exit near the western border of Spokane County.

Four people from Naches, Wash., in the SUV were taken by ambulance to Sacred Heart Medical Center. They were the driver, David Barrett, 52, and passengers Susan Barrett, 52; Benjamin Barrett, 16; and Katie Barrett, 12.

Katie Barrett was listed in serious condition at the hospital Thursday afternoon. Susan and Benjamin were treated and released, and David was not treated, a hospital spokesman said.

All of the Barretts were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash, WSP said.

Idaho universities get water research grant

Three Idaho universities have been jointly awarded a $9 million federal grant to study the state’s creeks and snowpacks and establish a statewide network of water research, the University of Idaho announced Wednesday.

The UI, along with Boise State and Idaho State universities, will use the three-year grant to gather data in Idaho watersheds and to research nitrogen and carbon cycles, stream ecology and fish genetics. The funding will also allow the creation of a statewide network of water research information and create a state water quality laboratory, according to the UI. As part of the research, the UI will study Mica Creek in North Idaho, ISU will monitor the Portneuf River in southeastern Idaho, and BSU will study Dry Creek in the southwest part of the state.

Students and teachers in school districts near each experimental watershed will help collect information and use it in the classroom, the UI said.

UI architecture college merger under fire

Moscow, Idaho A group of University of Idaho alumni and students has asked the Idaho State Board of Education to reinstate the school’s College of Art and Architecture, which was merged into the UI College of Letters, Art and Social Sciences in 2002.

The board, which has conducted an investigation into the merger, considered the issue at its meeting Thursday in Moscow. The merger occurred three years ago in what then-Idaho President Bob Hoover said was an effort to address state funding shortfalls.

Montana picks firms for Beartooth work

Helena The Montana Transportation Commission has awarded the reconstruction project for the Beartooth Highway to a Colorado firm working with two Montana companies, state Transportation Director Jim Lynch said Wednesday.

They are Kiewitt Western of Colorado, working with HKM Engineering, and JTL Group, he said.

Mudslides prompted by heavy rains and snowmelt last month damaged or destroyed parts of the scenic road near Red Lodge, in southern-central Montana.

The narrow, winding road is a major tourist route between Red Lodge and Yellowstone National Park, via Cooke City.

State officials and Montana congressional leaders have said getting the road open is a priority.

Sun Valley operators oppose airport move

Ketchum, Idaho A proposal to move the airport that serves Sun Valley from its current location in Hailey to a site in a neighboring county 25 miles away is being opposed by operators of the area’s signature destination resort.

“If we build our airport in Lincoln County, who is going to fly there?” said Wally Huffman, Sun Valley Co. general manager and a member of the committee that has been studying potential relocation of Friedman Memorial Airport from Blaine County, where the resort is located near Ketchum.

The Federal Aviation Administration has urged the airport to make improvements to runways and other facilities to better accommodate regional jets, which more commercial carriers are using to service markets the size of Sun Valley. The airport was designed to accommodate private aircraft.