If not Obamacare, Ottercare … what?

In a recent editorial, Opinion Editor Marty Trillhaase of the Lewiston Tribune comments on the Republican Legislature’s unwillingness to address the insurance needs of the 78,000 working poor Idahoans who fall in the Medicaid gap:

It’s now clear what the Idaho Legislature is unwilling to do. It’s unwilling to extend Medicaid coverage to 78,000 working poor adults. Year after year, it has refused to act - even when confronted with the stark reality that it has condemned as many as 800 people a year to premature deaths by denying them access to preventive health care. Among them was Jenny Steinke of Idaho Falls, who died of complications from untreated asthma.It has refused to act even as 31 states - including Washington and Oregon - and the District of Columbia have extended Medicaid coverage.

It has turned a deaf ear to the finances. Under Obamacare, the federal government would cover 100 percent of expansion’s costs during the first three years, but never less than 90 percent thereafter. Considering the $38 million Idaho now spends each year on medical bills incurred by indigents, Medicaid expansion would save the state money. But at least, lawmakers would be willing to do something. Wouldn’t they? More here.

Question: Why do Democrats camp out on such nonstarters in Idaho, as minimum wage, instead of this one that resonates with Idaho voters?