House punts on Medicaid gap

The debate was tense, as the House took up HCR 63 , the resolution just introduced and passed out of committee this morning to create an interim study committee on seeking a possible federal waiver to provide care for Idaho’s gap population, those who make too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to qualify for subsidized health insurance through the state insurance exchange. At its close, the house voted 39-30 to pass the resolution. … House Minority Leader John Rusche, D-Lewiston, said the bill just delays getting care for those people by at least a year. “To my mind, it’s clear that we have kicked the can down the road because it’s a difficult issue,” he said. Rep. Dan Rudolph, D-Lewiston, said, “To my mind, the reasons to delay doing this are bogus”/ Betsy Russell , Eye on Boise. More here .

• House passes ‘gap’ grant bill, $5M per year for 2 years